Throwing Punches at Ocean Waves
by A.Rose.Love
Summary: SasuxSaku 16: "You know, you really are beautiful," Sasuke continued to sing her his sweetest song. "And Sakura?" she looked at him with wide jade eyes as he played his guitar. "You deserve so much more than everything he's putting you through."
1. throwing punches at ocean waves

**This is based off of one of my favorite songs, _'The Gift of Paralysis' _by Envy on the Coast. I'm telling you, check it out, it's an amazing song, I tweaked it a little, but this is about Sasuke and Sakura, doesn't use there names at all, but hopefully you'll understand what I'm writing about, haha, but okay,**

**I do not own Naruto. And**

**I do not own the base song _'The Gift of Paralysis' _by Envy on the Coast.

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_Throwing Punches at Ocean Waves._

His onyx eyes stared down into the black churning ocean. Moonlight slid out from behind the large clouds covering the stars that shone in the sky. The air was blanketed with the salt from the ocean, sinking into the man's lungs, burning in his black eyes. He felt the spray of the water glance off of his skin. The moon let him see, as her body was twisted and crushed by the large waves. The foam shone in the moon's glow, far away the ocean held a facade of calmness. To the naked human eye it looked anything but dangerous.

But the waves were large and heavy. And when she had jumped from the side... the ocean had gladly swallowed her to join it in its darkest and blackest depths. No one could see the rocks that creeped just below the ocean's normally glassy surface. Only the reflection of the people on the peer stared back when they attempted to look into its waters. The black and blue blanket covered the death.

The man's throat closed as he ran down from the peer. His heart screamed in his chest, urging him to find that girl. He made it to the beach but his legs would not stop him. He knew that she was already gone. It wasn't even worth it. He had seen her bones get crushed by the force of the terrible ocean. He saw it with his own eyes. But something inside of him refused to believe it. It denied that she could be gone.

He ran directly into the oncoming tide. The salt water stung his eyes and skin. It soaked into his jeans and his t-shit. The cold of the waves tore into his being, freezing him inside. But nothing would stop him from continuing.

A scream ripped from his lips. His heart was now in his aching throat. He couldn't see her. He couldn't see any part of her. Not even a hint of her pale skin, or of her pink hair. He couldn't see her... he couldn't see any of her.

He began to scream her name. He walked further out into the raging ocean. The tides pushing him back and forth, for no matter how powerful he was, he was simply a man, and man can do nothing to hurt the ocean. The tide threatened him, tempted him, to go into the water to join his almost bride. He screamed and yelled her beautiful name, until his throat was raw and numb, he wouldn't stop speaking it. His mind told him if he called for her enough... maybe her spirit would hear him and return to him. Maybe he could make her come back. If he could call her loud enough, he could wake her from the ocean's depths.

Anger welled in him, it burst from his every pore. It flooded out of his skin sinking itself into the already angry ocean. He knew he would never see her again, she would never hear him. He could never see her again.. Never see her face, see her smile... he would never hear her call his name... never again. He would never be able to call her his wife.

He started slamming his fists into the water. Throwing punches at the ocean waves. He kept hitting the dark water, trying to hurt it.

But it merely splashed at him. Laughing at his simple small, weak, human strength. His fists continued to hit into the water, his arms getting wet up to his elbows. All of his legs were down in the water, it was up to his stomach. The water still splashed up onto his face, mixing with his own salt water, the water that leaked from his dark onyx eyes.

His anger finally began to subside. He let his arms go limp into the water, his fists lay deeper into the water as his arms were straight down his sides. He lifted his face into the moonlight, tears streaming over his cheeks down to his chin, and finally falling down down, into the waiting hands of the salt water below. He hadn't gotten there in time. He couldn't save her. His own bride. It was his fault. She was gone from him, forever. And it was because he hadn't gotten to her in time.

He closed his burning black eyes, and stepped further into the water, feeling the pressure on his body, against his legs and his chest, the compacting pressure, it started to take his breath away. His raven hair was wet, dripping onto his eye lids, he breathed deeply, choking now and then on the ocean spray. He inhaled the salt water smell, listened to it lapping onto the sand where it met, married with the beach. He opened his eyes and stared up into the moon for one last time. It was full tonight, it laughed at him too. Told him he would never be strong enough to hold onto anything. Humans were so weak.

The man outstretched his arms above his head. Letting the moon create an outline for anyone passing by to see. Maybe someday someone would see his ghost, holding the hand of another, purer spirit, walking along the board walk, looking at each other, as if that day would be the day they'd be married together.

He let his arms fall down to his sides once more, and with a final thought of never again, that he would never see her again, he let the ocean welcome him to its depths. It gladly swallowed him, tossing his weak human body under the current, waves crushed him against the rocks, snapping his spine and breaking his skull. Water rushed into his lungs as his blood seeped into the hungry water.

When the waves finally calmed, the man lay beside his bride at the depths of the ocean's blackness. Never would they wed. Never would they breath again. The ocean held them in his large hands, taking them under his black and blue blanket, where they would be forever together, even if they didn't know it.

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**Yea, so that was it, please tell me what you think, it's a lot different from my normal, so review pretty please. :)**

**Peace everyone,**

**.Love**


	2. star gazing

**Hello :) wow you are all probably going to beat me, it's been like a week :( I'm sorry lol, but, here is another story, way longer than my other chapters, in anything lol, so hopefully you will like it :) **

_**This is rated M.**_

**For language though. For those wondering lol.**

**Now this 'story' or throwing punches at ocean waves, which this is under, will be a series of short stories, one shots, whatever you want to call them. So I'll put a lot of my one shots here. I hope you all enjoy :)**

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_Star gazing_

Sakura twisted the knob, hot water began spraying out of the shower head above her, showering her skin and hair with hot water. It wet her pink hair, plastering it to her skull, next it ran down her face, over her chest and stomach, finally flowing over her long pale legs and gathering in a small pool on the tub floor. From there, Sakura watched as it swirled, being sucked and eaten by the yawning drain. She stared down at the dirty water, like always, it still looked clear and clean as it fell away into the drain.

After she was done in the shower, she stepped out, drying her body off, steam still sat heavily in the room, warming her skin as she stood with a towel around her thin body. Sakura wiped the mirror in her bathroom, staring at her reflection.

_'They're right'_ She thought it simply, staring at herself. _'My forehead's too big, my eyes are too green, my hair's an obnoxious natural pink. I'm too skinny, I don't have breasts, I don't have an ass. My legs are too long, my skin is too pale, my feet and hands are too big.'_

She looked at all these parts of her body as she thought them, thinking of what Karin had said to her that day, again, in school. She frowned at herself. All the things wrong with her added up equaled everything she was. She was all wrong, built wrong, painted by God wrong, she just looked... ugly. She felt like no one liked looking at her, not even her mother.

She looked down at her pale skin, her small breasts, and her hipbones, wishing she could fill herself in with something. Give herself breasts, give herself an ass, make her hair a black or brown, maybe even blonde or red. Anything besides her stupid bubble gum pink.

The girl sighed, thinking of all the things she disliked about herself. It just made her sad. To think of how ugly she was. To think of all the things she did wrong in a day, to think that no one liked her. That no one wanted her.

She just felt useless.

Worthless even.

Sakura walked into her bedroom, pulling on her favorite pair of skinny jeans, the ones that hugged her hips just right, the ones that were red. Along with her red skinnys, she threw on her new t-shirt, white with a dinosaur on the front. She sat down and added black eye liner, ringing her green eyes with it, straitening her hair, teasing her shorter layers so the bottom was straight, and the top layers were puffed up.

She sat, looking at her pink hair and green eyes, her clothes and make up, trying to decide if she looked okay enough to even leave the house. It still didn't look like she had breasts, or an ass, but she felt like the clothes were her, and even though people looked at her oddly when she walked by in the small city, she felt these were the only things that could possibly protect her.

She grabbed a grey hoodie and her purse, and headed down stairs for the doorway, to go meet her best and only friend in the entire world.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Sakura's mother sat at the kitchen table, a cigarette was hanging between two of her fingers, lacing the air with small wisps of smoke.

"S-sasuke and I were going to go out tonight..." The twin pairs of jade eyes stared across from each other. Sakura soon lowered hers however, as her mother glared at her with more menace.

"So you and your bastard are going to go out tonight huh? Spend all of the money that I have to make to pay for your ass to live anywhere huh?" Sakura's mom had a bottle of cheap beer sitting by her too. "You cunt," the mother whispered.

Sakura's green eyes widened. "W-we're not going to spend money..."

"Just get the fuck out." Sakura stood for a moment, to see if that's what her mom really meant, and when the mother didn't even spare a glance at her daughter, Sakura quickly left the house.

She stepped out into the fall air, it was chilly and it wrapped around the thin girl's skin, making her feel something, if only a little, something like freedom. Tears had started to pull at her jade eyes, and she quickened her step when she realized she might be late. She rounded a few corners and walked across the city of Konoha, searching for the small areas of green right outside of the city limits.

Druggies and whores stood on all the corners, men winked at her, and the women glared. "Hey honey, why don't you come over here, I'd love to take you out for a drink tonight." The man standing in front of her had silver greying hair, it looked as though his face were scarred, Sakura's jade eyes widdened.

"O-oh, n-no," She stuttered, trying to walk past him. Her heart picked up a faster beat in her chest.

"You going somewhere? Because whoever you're going to meet, I can promise you that I can show you a more pleasurable night, love, come here." He reached a large hand out, grabbing Sakura's wrist, attempting to pull her closer.

"N-no, p-please let me go..." Sakura struggled in his grasp, he was old but there was still strength in the man. She couldn't break free.

"Just one night, I promise you won't forget it, you won't regret it either," Sakrua continued to struggle, trying to pull her slim wrist free, backing away from the old man, "You little cunt, come here!" He tugged on her wrist unexpectedly, knocking the girl off balance so that she slammed into his chest.

"Now there we are," He leaned down and started kissing along Sakura's neck. He put a hand behind her head, forcing her to stay where she was, his other hand rested on her hip, though he snuck his fingers under her shirt, feeling her soft pale skin. She could smell his foul breath, and his hands felt like dirt on her.

"Stop it," she cried, tears running over her pale cheeks, "Let me go."

There were running footsteps and she heard the man half moan in pain. Sakura turned her head all that the man's hand would allow her. Her jade eyes met Sasuke's onyx ones.

"Leave her go asshole," Sasuke said, the old man looked at him, pain in his old eyes. Sakura looked down and saw that Sasuke had a knife in his large hand. "Let her go." He said it simply. The man complied when he saw the silver glittering of the blade in Sasuke's hand. "And don't ever touch her again." he said, lacing one of his arms around Sakura's waist as the man took his slimy hands off of her.

They walked away, past other streets, other druggies, and past other whores. Sasuke felt the girl shiver against him, he felt her heart racing too. The two only walked farther through the city. Finally the buildings began to disperse. Only the scattering of concrete here and there, they saw trees growing around now, large beautiful trees. Their leaves left their summer coats of bright vibrant healthy green for their more earthy fall coats. Brilliant reds and lush dark crisp browns. The yellows looked luminescent with the oranges, reds, and browns behind them.

The sky canvas was streaked with golds and royal purples, blending with pinks brighter than Sakura's hair, leading into the oncoming violet darkness, with black tainting the edges of the violet.

The pair finally reached their destination. A large tree on a small hill, with perfect view of the sky. Sasuke gently let go of his best friend's waist and he stretched himself out on the ground below her, putting his arms back behind his head. His eyes were closed momentarily like he was napping from a long day. "Come lay next to me Sak," He said, his voice filled her ears and began to calm her still tense nerves.

She complied to his wish and laid down next to him, though leaving her arms by her side, she stared up into the heavens, wishing herself away from this place. The gorgeous colors still stained the sky, although the violet leaked on the other colors, casting a dark shadow over the sky canvas, casting the city below in deep shadows. The buildings and lights were beautiful to the eye, but the city itself was anything but.

They laid in silence for some minutes, the air around them was crisp, but fresh air. Air they could never get in the god forsaken city. It filled their young lungs and seemed to fill them with some sort of peace.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get there faster Sakura," Sasuke said, his dark eyes were still closed. Sakura watched him breath for a minute, staring at his chest as it lifted up and down with his every inhale and exhale. Sasuke always seemed so strong, even his breathing made Sakura feel weak and sickly.

"You saved me." The girl said simply, letting her small words fill the large air around them. The boy grunted in response. The silence ate at them again, leaving its quiet marks as Sakura stared up at the coming stars.

They were beautiful and breath taking. The light from millions upon millions of miles and light years away. They all didn't come out at the same time, some popped out immediately, being stronger than some of the other stars, shinning their silvery light brightest. But the weak stars began to show too. After the violet over took all of the sky, with the silver dotting the darkness. It was a wonder, awe inspiring.

The moon peeked out too, it was large and almost full, a small black crescent was the only thing missing from the giant ball in the sky. There were barely any clouds hanging around in the sky, the ones that were were small and fragile, thin smokey wisps, just floating around up above all of the people's heads.

"I like you laying with me Sak," Sasuke said. He finally opened his onyx eyes, staring at the stars. "I wish we could lay together all the time."

Sakura didn't say anything to that. Simply watching the twinkling silvery lights in the sky. It made her startled heart skip a beat, starting its racing again.

Sasuke sighed. He turned his head, ever so slightly, so he could look at the girl's pretty face. He saw the sadness swimming below the jade in her eyes. "Sak, what's wrong?" he asked.

"W-what? O-oh, n-nothing Sasuke, I'm fine, nothing is wrong." She pasted a small smile on her face. A well known sign that she would be fine.

But Sasuke knew she was lying. "Tell me Sakura," he said it simply, sitting up and looking down at her so she couldn't look away from him. She tried to tell him no again, but he continued to stare at her, telling her with his eyes that he knew her better than for her thin lies to work on him.

So she opened her small mouth, telling him of Karin and how the red haired girl looked at Sakura as if she were merely a bug on the bottom of her shoe. She told Sasuke how her mother thought she was nothing. How she sometimes felt like nothing. And how it was like no one in the world, except for him, was there for her. Tears stepped down along her cheeks, down into her hair as she continued to lay back in the grass.

As she spoke, she felt like her heart were breaking, shattering in her chest. Leaving her breathless and without any strength.

"I just wonder what it would be like if I just wasn't here anymore." Her jade eyes took in the stars. "If I just died... or something. Mom would only have to worry about herself. Karin would be happy the pink blob wasn't in her sight anymore. You could find a girl worth talking to. It would probably just be better for everyone." Sasuke reached his hand down, wiping the tears from Sakura's cheek, waiting for her to be finished.

"I-i... I mean look at me Sasuke..." she looked down at herself and a confused expression over took the teenage boy's beautiful face. "I'm ugly and worthless... I shouldn't even be here..." her throat was thick and she choked some. "I shouldn't even be here." she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Are you done now?" Sasuke asked her quietly, Sakura nodded her head. Tears leaked from her closed eyes.

Sakura felt something soft pressed against her lips. Something so so soft, delicate, and very very gentle. As if too much pressure would break her.

She slowly opened her jade eyes when the softness left her lips, and she saw Sasuke watching her. "What was that?" Sakura asked.

The boy held his breath for a second, "You know what that was." he said simply, looking away from her, as if he were embarrassed.

"But why?" Sakura asked him, confusion raced through her mind and it passed across Sasuke's face.

His black brows furrowed, "Because I like you..." He said it as if it were obvious.

Sakura shook her pink head. "No." she said simply. Sasuke repeated the word as a question. "We can't do that." She said it easily. "We can't do that. I can't lose you."

"Sakura you're not going to lose me." Sasuke said still looking down on her, leaning over her.

"Sasuke all relationships end like that. Someone gets hurt. They never work. I can't lose you. You're the only thing I have." The girl sat up, pulling her legs close to her chest. "I can't lose you."

"Sakura I'm not going to hurt y-"

"Stop it!" Tears ran from her eyes. She hugged her knees, feeling the shards of her shattered heart break more. "We can't." She said, she looked at him, begging him to understand. "Sasuke we can't..."

Sakura thought she saw something like anger pass behind his black eyes, but he hid it by looking at the ground, shadowing his eyes from her with his black fringe of bangs. When he looked back up at her he had a small smile on his face. "Which stars are your favorite Sakura?" Sasuke asked her randomly.

"Th-the weak ones," the girl said looking up at the stars, "they're so small but I think they are the most beautiful of all."

Sasuke sat for a minute, thinking this through. "I sure wish I could leave this damn town." Sasuke said, laying back down, but moving a foot or two away from the girl.

"I'd leave and never come back if I could." He said, staring up into the heavens, putting his hands behind his head once more. "I'd never come back." he half whispered to himself.

The well known silence came back again, nudging its way between the two. It was more tense than any of the others they had ever had. "I'm sorry." Sakura said after some minutes of being swallowed by the quiet.

"Let's go." the boy said, ignoring that Sakura had said anything. "We don't want your mom freaking out anymore than she normally does."

He stood and shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets, waiting for Sakura to get up to before he started walking away from the hill, the girl followed him, quietly, until they made it back to her home. Sakura turned to tell him thank you for walking her home, but when she looked behind her, he was already walking away from her.

Sakura walked into school the next day. Some sort of sadness clung to her insides, pulling her mood down. She had tried to talk to Sasuke, but he refused to come with her to talk. He just stayed with his friends, telling her that they could talk later.

Naruto, Sasuke's best guy friend, watched as the pink haired girl walked away from them, looking, if possible, sadder than she did when she had walked up to them. "Teme," Naruto started, changing his gaze and settling it on his black haired, skinny jean wearing friend. "Isn't that the Sakura girl you, like, love?"

"Yes it is dobe." he said gathering all of his books out of his red locker, "Why?" he asked.

"Why does she look so sad?" Naruto asked. "She's so shy, she doesn't talk to anyone but you and you just refused to talk to her, and you, like, love her teme."

Sasuke nodded, "I do Naruto, I love her." Naruto's blue eyes took Sasuke in, waiting for him to expand upon his answer. "I saved her from that one old idiot. You know, the one that watches all those women bathe and tries to have sex with whoever accidentally steps too close to him. And she was talking to me, telling me how I'm the only person she really has, and she basically said the world would be better without her. And then I kissed her. Because I want her to know that I can't live without her. And she told me she couldn't do it Naruto." Sasuke's black eyes hung on the floor.

"That's deep teme," Naruto said, looking down from his friend. "I didn't know." He said, staring at his black chucks and the dirty hallway floor. "Maybe you should talk to her?" Naruto said. "That's the only thing I would try and do."

Sasuke nodded as he slammed his locker shut. "I'm going to English now." He stepped away from his friend, walking down the hallway slowly, accidentally knocking into people, and letting out a small quiet "sorry" every time he did.

Sasuke pulled in front of the girl's house around 8 the next night. He walked up to the door, knocking quietly.

An older looking woman opened the door, "What the hell do you want?" She spit at him, the jade eyes she had were so similar to Sakura's that Sasuke took a minute to answer.

"Is Sakura here?" he asked the woman easily,unfazed by her angry greeting. The woman grumbled a yes and backed up into her house, screaming for her daughter to 'get down here'. Sasuke waited by the doorway quietly. Sakura ran down the stairs, wondering why her mom was calling for her, she saw Sasuke and slowed to a stop at the base of the stairs.

"Put your shoes on, and come out with me." He said before turning and leaving the house himself. He walked around his black car, opening the driver's door and sitting down in the seat. He let the motor idle for a moment, as the pink haired teenager ran out of her house to see what he wanted.

She opened up the passenger door, leaned over and asked him what he wanted. "Get in." he commanded, she obeyed him again, and sat down in the seat. Her hair was damp and curling from her shower, she had on normal blue jean skinnies and a black skull hoodie.

After the girl shut the door, Sasuke pushed the gas pedal to the floor and took the break off, sliding out of the parking space in front of Sakura's house. He sped down the road, past all of the corners and past the bars and dirt of the small city.

"I want to leave this place." The black haired boy said. He changed gears as he hit the highway, zooming away from the city. "I hate it here Sakura. I hate the people, the streets, the buildings, everything."

Sakura didn't know what to say, so she simply sat, waiting to see if that was the only reason he picked her up, to tell her he was leaving.

"You said two days ago that you wished you didn't have to be here so I could talk to a real girl. You told me you believed everything Karin ever said to you. And every time your own mother calls you a cunt you just bow your head and believe all the shit she tells you. You think you're so worthless Sakura. You think that you're nothing. And you think that no one cares about you."

They drove in silence for some moments. Sakura turned her face away from the teenager beside her. He heard as she sobbed quietly, he knew she was crying, he knew she would start crying. He knew it would happen, and he hardened himself before he had even come to pick her up. He let his black eyes glance over at her quickly, saw her long fingers furiously wiping at her face, saw how her shoulders fell, still believing everything the people told her.

He snapped his eyes back to the road, the sky canvas was darkening again, bleeding black through the puffy clouds in the sky. He slammed the gas down again. The tires of his black car screeched, trying to give him the speed he was pushing it to reach.

Sakura jumped a little when she saw how fast he was going, "S-sasuke," She stuttered out, "s-slow down, we're going to wreck."

He ignored her, the road began to twist and turn around corners, getting tighter and tighter, "Sasuke," the pink haired girl said again.

"You don't even want to be here anymore do you? It doesn't matter, just sit and trust me." He said it simply, the engine roared beneath them, no other cars passed them as they flew over the asphalt road.

After about another half hour of the reckless driving, Sasuke slammed his breaks on, again causing the tires to squeal in indignation. He parked the black beast under a weeping willow. The teenager unbuckled his seat belt, opening his door, "Get out," he said. Sakura followed him out of the car, tears still tracked down over her cheeks.

The boy sighed, casting his eyes up to the new stars. "Sak," he started, "Tell me again which stars are your favorite."

"That's all you want?" She said, her pink brows furrowing. "You know that already Sasuke. Why did you bring me here?" Sakura cried, looking at the ground. "I don't know where we are, what are we doing here?"

"Just tell me once more Sakura," Sasuke said. "Which ones are your favorite?"

"I like all of them," she said simply, the boy dropped his onyx eyes on her, raising an eyebrow of his own. "Th-the small ones," she said weakly, "The small ones are my favorite."

"And why is that?" the black haired boy asked her, looking back up at the stars, somewhat pleased that she said her favorite stars.

"Because they're small and weak, but they're still beautiful." Sakura said, she was still confused though, "Sasuke what does that have to do with anything."

The boy sighed, "Who makes fun of those small stars and means it?"

"The big stars? I don't know Sasuke just talk normal and not ask questions as answers to my questions." Sakura half glared at him.

Sasuke looked back up at the stars. "Little stars are so beautiful, Sakura," he turned his black eyes onto her jade ones. "You're an idiot for believing that Karin bitch and your mom." The teenage boy said it easily. "You're like the small stars Sakura," he looked down at the ground and in the growing darkness, Sakura couldn't tell for sure, but she thought she saw some pink lace into his pale cheeks. He put his hands in his pockets.

He still let his onyx eyes watch the dark ground. "You don't understand how beautiful you are, Sakura. Your stupid, but cute pink hair, your jade eyes, your pale skin. You're so thin, you look delicate, a-as if your breakable. Innocent and amazing, I just want to protect you, and I want to take you away from this place."

He let his eyes slowly meet hers, "I want you to come with me after we graduate. I'm going to buy a house, and you can live in it with me, we can both go to college together, I want you to come with me Sakura... I want to keep you in my arms so I can protect you from all the shit these assholes throw at you. Y-you deserve so much more. I-i know your scared, but please believe me..." He choked, taking a shaking breath.

"I-i'll never leave you Sak," he held her gaze, and she saw how scared he was. "I-i... I love you Sakura, and I want you to be mine."

His whole being seemed to hold in every breath, even down to his molecular level, it was like even his cells stopped moving. Like he simply froze after he let the long lingering words out of his mouth. His heart beat crazily in his chest, it had never beat like that before. His hands were shaking, and he was so scared. Scared she would reject him for her fear again.

Sasuke saw tears in the girl's jade eyes, his brows furrowed, she walked up to him and wrapped her thin arms around his waist. "Why are you crying?" Sasuke asked alarmed, she wasn't supposed to be sad, his heart fell. She felt bad for him. This was her saying no, and she was crying from hurting him. He was about to push her away from him when she suddenly lifted her head to look at him, and then Sasuke felt her soft lips pushed against his.

His heart leaped in his chest, he felt the girl tighten her arms around him. He also felt her tears running down her cheeks. Sasuke lifted a hand and ran it through the girl's soft pink hair, his other hand sat on her hip, gently holding her in place.

He waited until he felt her start to pull away from him before he opened his eyes and looked at her face. His raven brows were furrowed, and he searched her face as she searched his. He brushed her pink hair from her face again. "What does that mean Sak?" the boy asked her, she offered him a small smile.

"What do you think it means?" she laughed a little as he looked at her as if saying 'really?' with his face. "It means y-yes Sasuke," she showed him another small smile. "it means I want to leave this place with you..."

Sasuke laced his strong arms around the girl's tiny waist, pulling her tightly into his arms. Sakura wrapped her own thin arms around the boy's neck. He kissed her cheeks and her eyelids, her forehead, her lips. He smiled at her, "I'll protect you Sakura," he buried his face into the side of her neck, "I promise I'll always be here with you."

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**Okay that was the end of that one, thank you for reading, and please please tell me what you think, I would totally love to hear what you have to say :)**

**Peace everyone,**

**.Love**


	3. beating hearts

**This is just another chapter, none of these go along with the others, besides the common characters lol and pairing. :D **

_**This is rated K+**_

**Happy reading all :)**

**I don't own Naruto, or Sasuke, or Sakura**

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_Beating Hearts_

Seven year old Uchiha Sasuke sat on the edge of the dock. His small feet dangled from the wooden end of the structure. The water was low today, meaning that his legs wouldn't let his feet into the cool water. Only a short time ago, the boy was here with his father, being taught how to use the fire ball jutsu. But now... he was alone, in every sense of the word.

The young boy pulled his knees up to his thin child's chest, wrapping his arms around his now bent legs. _'Why Itatchi... why did you have to take mother and father away...'_ His black onyx eyes squeezed shut, his heart racing in his frail chest. The event played and replayed in his mind's eye, seeing his mother's and father's blood, seeing their eyes glistening, wide open, staring into blank space, because they were dead.

The young boy could not get this out of his head. He could not stop thinking of it. He had no where to go that would take this pain away. It was over bearing and it laid heavily on his small, innocent heart. His black eyes flooded as memories bombarded him, tears pushed their way past his dam like eyelids, tearing water streaks down his pale young face.

His hand tightened into tiny fists as he thought through all of the pain. "I hate you brother," he hissed, "I hate you..."

"Sasuke," a feminine voice called from behind him.

Unintentionally, hope blossomed in his chest, it lifted him up like the wings of a bird, or angel. His pain was temporarily dispersed, if his mother survived, she could take care of him. She loved him, and she would hold him as he spoke of this terrible nightmare. "M-mom!" The boy stuttered out, jumping up and turning around, expecting to see his black haired, pale skinned mother running towards him with her thin arms out stretched, to bring him into her protective security.

But when he turned, that was not the sight that he saw. His heart plummeted even further than where it had been before the disillusion of hope. It hit the bottom of his being, shattering the red beating thing into a million, sharp, stabbing, throbbing pieces.

A small pink haired girl came up to the boy. She had on a yellow kimono with a bright green obi that matched her sparkling jade eyes perfectly. She ran the length of the dock to get to him faster, her small face slightly flushed from the exertion. "Sasuke," She said after catching some of her breath.

"Hn." the boy said sitting back down, pulling his knees to his chest. He tried to regain his delicate composure, fitting a mask on his face perfectly. His dark eyes stared out into the water, looking at the small currents the wind rippled across the relatively still water. "What d'you want Sakura?" Sasuke said, trying to sound like it didn't matter. Trying to hide his pain from the girl standing behind him.

Sakura knelt down beside the raven haired young boy. "I thought it would be fun to go to the festival tonight..." She said it quietly, "I thought it might make you feel a little bit better." She scooched a little closer to the boy, trying to see how he felt.

"There is nothing wrong Sak." he stated it easily, as if it were the complete truth. He saw the pink haired girl shake her head as he said this.

"Nuh-uh," She spoke quietly to him, "The third Hokage always says that a boy only hugs his knees when he feels truly alone." She pointed a green tipped finer at how Sasuke was sitting. "You must feel very alone," She said matter of factly "If the Hokage said it, it's true ya know."

A small scowl passed along Sasuke's young face, "The Lord Hokage is an idiot." he said. "He doesn't know what he is talking about." The boy jumped some when he felt Sakura put her small hand on his head. She let her fingers slide carefully through his soft raven hair.

"I'm here for you Sasuke," the young girl said, looking at him. "Don't block me out okay?" The boy looked back at her. Something inside of him told him it would be safe, that he could trust her.

"I-i... Sak, I feel alone..." he pulled his knees closer. "I-i don't have anything left." Tears streamed from his onyx eyes now, down his cheeks and onto his clothes. "I don't want this. I-i want my mother." he cried, and cried. Sakura wasn't sure what to do. So she got closer to him and laced her thin arms around his shoulders.

She waited as he cried in her arms, "Sasuke," she started to speak after his sobs and tears started to lessen, "You aren't alone." she said the words softly, taking his hand, she put it over her heart. "Do you feel the rhythm of my heart?" After a moment, the black haired boy nodded, feeling the young girl's strong heart beat. "May I feel yours?" the boy nodded again. And the small girl laid her hand over her friend's heart. She smiled widely.

_~Th-thump..._

"Sasuke," the young girl smiled at her best friend brightly, "Our hearts are linked, since our hearts beat in rhythm together!" she exclaimed. The boy's facial expression of wonder and confusion did not change. "It means that our fates are entwined." She continued to smile at him.

"Did the Hokage tell you that too?" the boy asked doubtfully. A skeptical look passed over the boy's face.

Sakura scowled at him. "Hey now," she said, "it means I'll be with you when ever and where ever you need me Sasuke, like the best of friends." Her pretty young smile returned. She reached her small arms out again and hugged the boy close.

They boy felt his small heart jump in his chest, and he wondered if Sakura's had jumped as well. "Thank you Sakura," he said into her pink hair, holding her thin body in his weak arms. Something else in him told him not to let her go.

Time Skip.

Sasuke walked along the deserted Konoha streets. Darkness lay all around him like a blanket, covering his progress towards Konoha's main gate. A full pack hung from his back, and he was unsure if he would ever come back.

He doubted he would ever get the chance to, and he didn't know if he did get the chance, he wasn't sure if he would ever want to. Everything that had happened in Konoha, being born and raised, and orphaned, he didn't know if he could ever call the village his home. What he was about to do would change everything.

He heard steps behind him, and he felt her presence for a while, he had just chosen to ignore it. The curse mark had heightened his senses ever since Orochimaru gave it to him.

"Sasuke..." The voice that spoke his name was familiar, yet it was a watered down, thin, frightened version of the normal chipper voice of a very precious girl. Sakura stood a couple of yards ahead of him. Her pink hair hung limply down into her face.

The Uchiha didn't reply, but he kept walking until he was past her. "What are you doing out at this time? You should be asleep." Sasuke stated this fact quietly into the night, the wind carried his beautiful voice to her, and she shook her head.

"You should be doing the same thing Sasuke, why are you here?" She asked but she already anticipated his answer to her question.

"I need to get stronger Sak, you know that." The boy took a few more steps forward. "I have something I have to achieve. And this is the only way I can do that Sakura."

"You can get stronger here! Don't go to Orochimaru, he's only using you." Sakura said as tears started to burn in her jade eyes. Her heart was racing in her chest, pumping blood erratically, making her feel on edge and somewhat jumpy. "Sasuke... You have so much here..."

"No Sakura, I have nothing left here. There is nothing more here for me Sakura. You know that too." He stopped and turned to look at her. "I need to do this." He said it as if it were a fact, his voice low and it was silky.

"Sasuke please, please don't." Tears started their way down her pale ivory cheeks. "I-i'll stay with you... I'll make you happy, Sasuke. Please! Please just stay with me..." she took steps closer to him, her shoulders were shaking with sobs. The boy turned, and began walking again... away from her, away from the village. To Orochimaru.

"Take me with you Sasuke... m-maybe I could help you on your journey, I could help you get stronger... Sasuke take me with you!" The boy ignored her words again, his feet carrying him farther and farther away.

"Stop!" Sakura yelled after him. "I-if you don't... I-i'll scream!" The black haired boy called her bluff, taking steps farther and farther away from her. Sakura's pretty jade eyes dilated in the already black darkness. She was afraid to lose him, she was afraid this would be the last time she would ever see him again. She started to hyperventilate. "Sasuke!" she yelled, "I-i... I love you... I promise, I'll make you happy, I'll take your pain away..."

"If you go, I'll be as lonely as you... I won't have anyone to talk to or be with... I won't have any reason to smile Sasuke... just please," her eyes squeezed shut, her salt water tears ran over her cheeks, over her lips, and fell from her soft skin. "Please don't leave... I love you."

There was a small swish of wind that went by her left side, and her jade eyes opened widely, but Sasuke was not in front of her. "Sasu-"

"Thank you, Sakura," the girl felt his presence behind her then, his quiet voice cut her off. "for everything."

She felt him hit her shoulder, almost her neck, fear welled in her heart as blackness swam at the edges of her vision. "Sasuke...?" she felt herself falling forwards, but almost immediately she felt the boy's strong arms wrap around her.

She fought the darkness that threatened her, she had to stop him, she had to make him stay. She had to make him stay with her.

She felt his hands on her, turning her around in his arms, and she felt his dark eyes on her, but she couldn't see him, for some reason Sakura hadn't noticed that her eyes had closed.

"I'm sorry..." Sakura heard the boy whisper, pulling her body close to his, she felt his warmth, his body heat made her also realize that she was freezing in the cold night air. "I'm sorry Sakura..." it was the last thing she could remember him saying.

Then the blackness over took everything.

_~Th-thump..._

_~Th-thump..._

Sakura screamed when she woke up. Her heart was in her throat and she looked around. There was sun shedding it's light on her, making her skin almost glow in the early morning. The leaves looked soft in the trees, and she heard birds singing off in the distance.

_'Maybe it was a dream... and I'll see him and tell him about this dream, and he'll look at me like I'm crazy and then we'll just laugh it off... and he'll tell me he could never actually leave the village...'_ New tears filled her eyes as she thought this.

She wouldn't be sitting on a bench if it had simply been a dream. She reached her hands up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You're annoying..." Sakura said out loud to herself. "Stop crying... crying w-won't... f-fix this..." but she couldn't stop.

It was like something had just ripped her small heart out. She hadn't realized it was that delicate, she hadn't known that she would feel so alone when he would leave. Sakura had even prepared herself, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop him.

But it broke her all the same.

She felt a small weight on her chest, almost unnoticeable, but she felt it when it hit her bare arm. Sakura looked down, and saw a leaf headband laying over her chest. Folded so that it was resting over her heart.

"S-sasuke..." the girl's voice let out, quavering even more, picking up the metal and fabric in her shaking hands, she held it closer to herself, holding onto it tightly. She felt the metal digging into her skin, a small pain came with it, but she didn't care. It was Sasuke's... he left it for her.

_~Th-thump..._

_~Th-thump..._

Sasuke's black eyes widened in the darkness around him. There were stones leading into a makeshift tunnel before him. The silver haired medic stood before him.

"Welcome Sasuke..." Kabuto said, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. "Lord Orochimaru has been waiting for your arrival..."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, making his way past the medic. Then stopping one last time, he listened quietly, hearing the birds and a stream gurgling somewhere. He let his onyx eyes take in the yellow sun one last time. He knew it would be a long time before he got out of this tunnel.

"What are you waiting for?" Kabuto hissed, "Our Lord is waiting for you."

"Oh shut up." Sasuke said, glaring at the silver haired man he had once thought of as a companion during the chuunin exams. The boy started walking again, hearing his steps echo on the stone walls as he descended into the earth.

_'Sakura...'_ Sasuke thought, his feet carrying himself to the feet of the devil. _'I'm sorry... I wish I could be what you needed._

_I wish I could have been the one to stay with you in the village, and make you smile so beautifully like you do.' _Sasuke let his black eyes fall onto the floor. _'Maybe if I come back someday... if I survive this... and if you still feel the same..._

_just maybe we'll still be connected like we have been all our lives...'_

He felt his heart beating furiously in his chest, nervousness swam through his being. And he gritted his teeth, stopping the slight tremble in his hands.

_'After I kill him... after I kill Itatchi... after I kill Orochimaru..._

_That will be the day that I can finally take you as my wife. And I can make you smile and then I will be the one to take your pain away... That stupid pink haired girl and that idiot Hokage was right... our hearts were linked... she owns mine. I fell in love with a stupid pink haired girl... who means everything to me.'_

And then Darkness swallowed his form.

_~Th-thump..._

_~Th-thump..._

* * *

**Okay, there is the 3rd chapter of this series of one shots, pretty pretty please _wink wink._ You all know what to do. Thanks for reading.**

**peace**

**.Love**


	4. as much as you need me

**Hello :) long time no see ne? Well, I'm happy to announce to those reading, and I'll say in my other updates too, that I'm writing about 3-4 other stories, I have plans, and I'm going to try and prewrite them, so that it hopefully won't take so long, and that again, they'll hopefully be longer than 5 chapters, so without further or do,**

**I don't own Naruto. :'(**

**is story time ;}**

__

**This is rated T (for language)**

* * *

_As much as you need me._

"You son of a bitch!" the young kunoichi screamed at the top of her fragile lungs. "Bastard!" she yelled again, tears streamed down her soft pale face, reflecting in the dim lighting in the bedroom. Her pink brows were knitted together tightly, raised high on her forehead.

Sasuke stood there, remaining quiet, letting the woman attempt to break him with her anger. His black eyes were cast on the floor, his arms hung uselessly at his sides. It was the first time in his life he didn't know what to do. It was the first time since he was little that he felt like he was loosing everything all over again.

"Get out!" the woman's throat was raw and hoarse. "You asshole get out!" she could barely see out of her flooded jade eyes, anger burned in her, like a wildfire inside of her. Raging further and further out of control.

The man just stood there and it added to her fury. She walked up to him, slamming her fists into his chest. Her chakra pulsed into him, but he just took it, letting the girl use her inhuman strength to attack him.

After he felt her falter for a moment in her onslaught of punches, he wrapped his strong arms around her, pinning the girl's dangerous fists to her sides.

"Let me go, Sasuke let me go!" she struggled in his grasp, trying to pull her small form free of his powerful grip.

He ignored her, simply pulling her closer to him, until her small pink head was tucked carefully beneath his chin. "Stop." he spoke the word softly, and as soon as it left his lips, the girl stopped struggling, letting herself fall into him embrace.

She stood sobbing in his arms for a time unknown to either of them. Her tears dampened his shirt, covered the girl's own face. Leaving tracks across her skin, and her eyes puffed and red. Eternity seemed to pass but it was only a few minutes.

"Tell me you love me."

Sasuke stiffened when the girl spoke, he continued holding her, but he didn't know what to do. He let his lips stay shut, and he held her tighter.

"Sakura..." his voice fell, and he felt her wriggle in his grasp once more.

The pink haired girl managed to pull slightly away, enough to look at the man in his deep black onyx eyes. "Tell me." she said again, tears slid down her cheeks silently now. "If you mean it, if you want it. Tell me if you love me."

He felt the pain filling her voice in his chest. His heart skipped a beat, squeezing as he felt the hurt flowing from the girl. His girl. He had only ever caused her pain, but she always hid it from him so well. Covering her pain with a simple smile, she could read him better than anyone, but he couldn't even tell when she was sad.

His black brows knitted together, leaning down to the girl he kissed her soft trembling lips. Pulling her closer into his arms.

She struggled once again. Pushing away and out of his grasp completely. Sakura's jade eyes cut into him. "Don't kiss me." shock ran over the man's face, a very different picture had been painted in his mind when he had decided to kiss her.

The girl turned, grabbing her grey hoodie, and stepped past the raven haired man. "Where are you going?" his voice was thin, shock colored it.

"Out." she said simply. Throwing on her shoes she opened the door and disappeared from the man's sight.

He looked down at his hands, moving them from fists back to letting them lay flat. She was slipping through his fingers, like water when you couldn't keep a hold on it. When your hands weren't tight enough and there were cracks to let it pour through.

His chest constricted once more, and an overbearing pain filled him. Pulling at all of his organs, but it wound itself most tightly around his heart. He could feel every heart beat, like something was just sleeping in his chest, waiting for the chance to kill him.

He stood then, heading to the kitchen part of their small apartment. Opening the refrigerator, he pulled a bottle out. He popped the cap off and sat down in the seat to the table, slumping down taking a pull from his alcohol.

He let the liquid burn its way down his throat, it was an almost painful feeling but it made him feel better. He took a few more pulls, closing his eyes thinking. The liquid seemed to burn the pain of his heart away, letting a weak throbbing feeling to take the place of the piercing hurt that had been there.

* * *

Sakura walked into a bar a few blocks from their apartment building. She passed by other drunken customers. A few men whistled as she walked by, but one tried to grab her butt. So Sakura decided to make a point out of this man, concentrating her rage into her fist, swiftly turning back around and decking him square in the jaw. She let her jade eyes graze over the now silent crowd, daring someone to whistle or try something else on her.

When no one did she continued to the bar counter, looking at the tender she ordered. She glared around the room. Only idiots sat in here, no one she knew was in the building. The tender set her drink in front of her, Sakura thanked her quietly, taking it in her hands she lifted the glass to her lips drinking the liquid deeply.

She sat in silence over the period of hours. Thinking and attempting to cool her seething anger, she drank but she didn't know how much. After paying she stepped out of the bar. The cool air of the night brushed over her skin, causing her flesh to pucker in it's microscopic shivers.

She opened the door to their apartment quietly, hoping that Sasuke was already asleep somewhere inside, she didn't want to fight with him again that night. She rounded the corner into the living/ dining room and saw him sitting at the table, a half full bottle rested in his right hand, 5 empty others sat in a neat group off to the side.

His black eyes found her jade ones. The stared at each other for some moments, neither wanted to talk and neither knew what to say.

"Hey," the man said finally. His voice was soft, although not slurred. "Come here." he said it quietly, pushing the chair across from him out so Sakura could sit down.

She ignored his request and stood in front of him, letting her jade eyes rest on his face. She stayed silent, waiting for him to speak again.

Sasuke folded his hands around the bottle that was on the table, he sat up straighter in his chair. "Sakura," he started, looking down from her. "You know I... I love you..."

Her jade eyes bore into him, and he could feel her harsh gaze on his skin. "No. I actually don't." The pink haired girl said, looking at the man across from her. "You don't show me Sasuke. I don't know."

"We've been together for three years Sakura." Sasuke said, "If that-"

"I know how long we've been together, but you haven't told me!" Tears began forming in her eyes. "I need to know. Sasuke you don't show me, you don't tell me. I don't know. I have to know."

Sasuke watched as the girl's pink eye brows furrowed on her forehead, "Sakura..." he got up and walked closer to her. She backed away like a frightened animal, her eyes sqeezing closed. "Come here." he repeated his demand from earlier.

He caught the thin girl in his arms, wrapping them around her waist, pulling Sakura's body closer to his own. "You know I love you... why would I stay with you for three years if I didn't love you?" The girl shook her head, the salt water in her eyes was making her throat close and she couldn't speak.

"Look at me," he held her at arms distance, looking into her jade eyes. She tried to avoid him, look anywhere but, but he took her face gently into his hands, making her look at him. He simply stared into her eyes for a few moments, looking at her tears and trying to see into her, find the words she needed him to say.

"I love you." he said finally, bringing her close again, against his chest, lacing an arm around her waist, and the other rubbed her back as she cried. He leaned down, letting his lips meet her head.

"I need you as much as you need me..." he said, holding her tighter because the words reached a part of him he didn't want anyone to know about. He didn't want anyone to see it. "I need you Sakura..."

He felt the girl's shoulders shaking in his arms. "I need you too." she choked out into his chest. He leaned down once more, kissing her head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered quietly, "I'm sorry..." he held her tighter, telling her with his arms that he'd never let her go. No matter what would happen, he was determined to keep this girl his. To always keep her his.

* * *

**Oh, yes, by the way, Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and if you don't celebrate it, then Happy Thursday :) okay, and one question to those who know, are we aloud to like post, adult things on here? i know it says no ma things, but are lemons ma? becasue i've read them on here before because i'm just wondering... please let me know lol**

**thanks you for reading, and pretty please hit the button that says 'review' and tell me what you think :)**

**peace**

**.love**


	5. looking back at his years

**Yay, lol I'm super excited to post this, I really wanna know what you all think :) this story causes the whole entity (throwing punches at ocean waves) to be upped to M so those under the age, so sorry, but it's for your own, good, I will still rate according to the specific story, but in general, M haha.**

_**This is rate M,**** (for language, sexual content, and drug use/referral)**_

**I don't own naruto, good thing huh?**

**S**.t**.0.**_R_**._y._**

* * *

_Looking back at his years_

Pinks, golds, purples, oranges, and reds all fell across the sky. Dotting the horizon the sun was almost completely gone, only whispers of it's rays cascaded over the landscape, bathing everything in a light orange color, deepening twilight hung in the air, a promise that night was swiftly approaching. The trees in the park were large, towering, and bright green, healthy, some had couples initials scraped into their old bark. Marring them with something humans thought beautiful.

A raven haired man stood, looking up at the sky, he thought back on his years. How young and dumb he had been. About the pink haired girl that he still thought about every single day. That summer, he had just turned 21, he had just moved out, and he was loving all of his time alone.

He'd go partying almost everyday, drinking, smoking, drugging, anything he could get his filthy rich hands on. He'd blow his own mind to oblivion and not worry about tomorrow until it came. It was during one of those nights, where his head was everywhere, when he drank more alcohol to try and sober himself from the trip he took with the latest drug, this was the day he met his girl. The girl he would still look for.

* * *

His black eyes were hazy, and he looked around with only about half of his senses, he was happy though, like he was swimming in this deep warm happy place, that only the drugs could take him too. He sat at the bar, looking down at his drink, wondering if he'd be lucky enough to find a girl to take back to his apartment with him.

He pulled out a cigarette, lighting it with a small lighter that he got from his pocket, he was wondering what sort of girl he'd be able to take home, smoke whispered through the air as he exhaled the toxins from his body, his half blood shot eyes taking in everything around him.

As he though of this predicament, wondering which girl would be lucky enough that night, he saw a flash of pink in his peripheral vision. He turned only for a moment, and he saw a girl.

Her skin was pale, almost ghostly pale, but in the bright lights it was beautiful, her hair was the brightest neon pink, just screaming for attention from anyone who would give it to her. She was walking up beside him, setting her arms down on the counter, she ordered her own drink.

Sasuke took in the girl's form, she had on skinny jeans that hugged her thin legs, making them look long and beautiful to the half out of it man. She had on a v-neck shirt, and even though her breasts were small, Sasuke still found himself drawn to them too. She was sexy, even though not every bit of her skin was hanging out, and even though he wouldn't be able to see all of her breasts when he stood up and looked down, she was still incredibly sexy, something about her just drove him crazy.

Everything about her just suddenly put him on an edge, and whatever that edge was, he got the feeling, deep within himself, that he wanted to jump off of it. That no matter what would happen, he wanted to jump over the edge.

He wanted to fly off that fucking edge.

He opened his mouth to talk to her, to say something witty and clever, to make her look at him, but nothing passed his lips. His mouth was hanging open as he looked at this pink haired girl, and when she turned to look at him, he knew that she was the only one that he wanted to take back that night.

Her eyes were almost as bright as her hair, though in a jade green color, and when they swung over to him, to stare at him, he lost his breath.

"Do you need something?" the girl asked as the bar tender set her drink down in front of her. "Why are you staring at me?"

She said it easily and coolly, like she knew exactly why he was staring, why his mouth was hanging open. She raised one of her pink eyebrows, "You know, if you pay for my drink I'll think about dancing with you..." She gave him something like a smirk, and then she simply walked away. Her hips swung side to side, perfectly. Just enough to make every guy in the crowd look at her, but subtle enough it made the girl's look at her like an equal and not like she was a slut.

Sasuke quickly closed his mouth, swallowing a glob of spit and he fished his wallet out, dropping a twenty on the counter, his onyx eyes never left the pink haired's ass.

He then pushed his way through the crowd, he could only think of taking her clothes off and getting himself inside of her. He could think of nothing else, drugs hadn't even crossed his mind. This girl already resembled a living drug, and he wanted to get high on her.

"Hey," he said, following her over to a corner of the small room. Music blasted all around them, making their ears ring with it, it was so loud that if someone wanted to get lost in it, they only needed to close their eyes.

Other people were on the floor, dancing drinking, some were even doing drug deals in the other corners. They were all dancing together, grinding close, boys were looking for girls to screw and girls were looking for a guy to treat them right, even if it would only be for a few hours.

The pink haired looked back at him when he tried talking to her. "Oh, so you're going to follow me now?" she asked, Sasuke felt like he picked up on some sort of animalistic hunger flowing right under this girl's skin, making it glow under all of the lights.

_'Maybe she wants it as much as I do...'_ Sasuke thought. The two simply stood staring at each other for some minutes, Sasuke was thinking to himself and the girl was waiting for him to say something.

"Aren't you going to say something?" She asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"What?" he asked, like he had already forgotten why he was there with her.

The pink haired started laughing, "I knew you were strung out, but come on now," her laugh was almost musical to him. No one's voice ever sounded that good in his ears. "You're like really fucked up."

The young man simply smiled down at her, "Come here darlin," he leaned down to her, meeting the girl's lips briefly, "Let me show you a good time, I know what I'm doing darlin," He felt her breath on his lips and he felt himself already start to get excited.

The girl leaned up to him and kissed his lips full on, biting him and pulling him closer to her small body, he laid his hands on her hips, pulling hers towards his own. The boy's thoughts started to scatter even more, like a hard wind blowing already fallen leaves.

He tried to bring her closer but he felt the girl lean away from him, he pulled back from kissing her as the girl did, he opened his black eyes to see the girl's jade ones already staring at him. She smirked at him again and then started laughing, taking her arms down from his neck.

"You know," the girl took a step back, "I don't think so."

Sasuke looked at her, "What?" his black eyes grew larger in the dimness of the club. "You don't think what?"

His large hands still rested on her hips, and she laughed again, "I don't think you're gonna screw me tonight." the words were almost a challenge to him, daring him to play this game with her.

Now it was Sasuke's time to narrow his eyes, "Who said I want to do that?" he asked.

A thin pink eye brow was raised, "'Darlin I can show you an amazing night', that doesn't count?" the girl asked him, she acted like she was put off but he saw the mischievous look playing behind her mesmerizing jade eyes.

"I would never just fuck a girl," Sasuke laughed this time, he wasn't sure but he thought he caught a disappointed look passing across the girl's sweet face, "At least, not before I know your name sweetheart," he pulled her closer to him again, looking down into her eyes again, she had to look up at him to meet his.

"I think you just played me to know my name," She smiled, "But, i-it's Sakura,"

The boy smiled now, "So, Sakura..." he looked down for a second, a smile still hanging on his lips, "Beautiful," he looked back up at her and there was a slight blush on her cheeks. "Tell me, how do I get to take you home with me?"

"Aren't you the one whose supposed to know all the ins and outs of this game?" She laughed again, "But hmm," the mischievous smile played on her face again, "Maybe you just won't be able to, who knows," she gently wriggled free out of his hands, walking out to the floor.

The young man followed her, of coarse, something told him he'd be the winner of the game that night. Sakura pulled the man closer as she started dancing.

After some minutes of moving, sweat started to bead on her skin, but that was something else Sasuke saw and was oddly turned on by. _'she'll be a lot more damp then that when I get her back to my apartment...'_ he smiled at the thought and pulled the girl closer to him. Feeling her body against his as they danced.

Everyone danced in a haze, not really caring about anything more than what they wanted, they were there for the beer, the drugs from the corners, and the sex with someone else in the building. All of them, not one, was there for any other reason.

He felt her against him, and it made something deep with in him break into a fire, like something deep within his core was just burning, and he could feel nothing else but her body against his, he could smell nothing but her sweet scent up through his nose, and he could almost taste her on his tongue, he wished to taste her again, but this time he wanted to be in more than her lips.

He started to lead her away from the crowd, he was getting tired of this. It wasn't necessarily a hard game just a game he got impatient with now and then. When he was too excited for his own good, and when he had a hard time keeping in control of himself.

The girl let him take her from the dance floor, and she knew that he wanted her and that he could barely contain it, she felt him against her when they had been dancing, and it excited her in return.

She never usually let it get this far, she had never actually kissed one of the guys, she just tricked them into buying her a round or two at the bar, but something about this young man, something told her that he might be okay. That she might be safe with him. His words and his actions didn't tell her this, it was just a gut feeling, something deep within her that simply said it would be okay.

He pulled her back into the darkest corner with him, and he let his hands fall back on her waist, letting his fingers trace a short ways up under her shirt, lighting the girl's skin on fire, lending her some of the heat he had gotten since seeing her. He leaned down and kissed the girl's lips, meeting them at first quite gently, and then deepening it. Licking at her lips she tentatively opened her mouth, letting the young man's tongue slip in.

He searched every corner of her mouth, sliding his tongue along hers, toying with her mouth, something like teasing her. And then he gently backed her up against the wall, his hands felt like velvet where he was able to touch her skin, and soon she was as warm as he was, and the fire was raging and burning in both of them.

"Sakura," his voice was heavy, and it was like he was hurting trying to pull away from her, "I..." he looked at her eyes for a second, to see if she was angry or expecting something, "I want to take you somewhere..."

Her green eyes looked up at him, and he thought for a second he saw the small amount of color she did have in her face drain out, but she quickly hid it. "O-okay..." she said, and then he took her small hand, and lead her outside of the club to his car.

Sakura's heart was racing in her chest as the young man started his black vehicle, she wondered for a minute, if he'd just take her back to his house, fuck her senseless and then just tell her to get out. Worry blossomed in her chest, and for the first moment that night she felt afraid of being with the black haired man who sat beside her.

She sat quietly on her side of the car, waiting to see what would happen. She was surprised when Sasuke reached his large hand over and entwined their fingers, "You okay?" he asked, only one hand on the wheel as he drove them down the deserted streets.

The girl nodded her pink head, "Y-yea," she said, smiling slightly, "I-i'm okay," she looked over at him and simply looked at him for a few moments while his attention was on the road.

He had a very handsome face, and even though he looked strung out and really fucked up, he was really very attractive. His black raven hair was still shiny and healthy looking, and even though his eyes looked a little blood shot, they were still amazing. Dark and handsome... and he seemed dangerous too, like if someone crossed him wrong they might not be alive the next day.

"You sure you're okay darlin? Or you just not talk much?" Sasuke asked again.

"Oh, uh," she looked away from him when he turned to look at her, "I'm fine, just kinda... you know..."she said, and he smiled in response, giving her hand a small squeeze.

"Me too darling, but we'll be there in a few seconds, and then we can make it better," he smiled at her again, she smiled weakly back at him. And simply added a small yes.

He pulled into his drive way, like he promised only seconds later, and he got out of the car, quickly coming out and around to open her door. "Th-thanks" she mumbled quietly to him. He took her hand in his large one again, leading her up the stairs and opening the door to his apartment.

He let the pink girl enter, and look around for a minute as he hung his jacket up and took hers from her shoulders.

"What time is it?" Sakura asked, kicking her shoes off, looking at the walls and the furniture, the couches were black, and the coffee table was more modern, black trim and a glass top with a complex metal design underneath. "You're home is beautiful," Sakura breathed, taking it all in.

Sasuke pulled out his phone, "It's only 3 am," he said, then he set his phone down on the table beside one of the leather black chairs. "Do you want anything to drink, or anything?"

Sakura shook her head, "N-no thank you..." Sasuke said okay and that he wouldn't want anything either then. The girl sat down on one of the couches, gingerly, leaning forwards, not really relaxing.

Sasuke raised one of his black eye brows, "You sure you're okay?" He sat down on the seat across from her, watching her slightly as she sat looking extremely uncomfortable.

She was going to say yes again, that everything was fine, but again she got some sort of feeling like she could trust him. "I-i'm just nervous, I've never done this before..."

The man's black eyes widened, "You mean you're a...?" Sakura nodded.

"I-i'm sorry, I-i'll just go now... s-sorry to bother you." she stood feeling like an idiot.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, "I didn't say I wanted you to leave, I-i just didn't know... do you … not want to do anything then?" he asked, there was a tone of pleading with her in his voice, hoping she'd say no.

"No," Sakura said, "I wouldn't have came if I didn't want... I just thought you should know... th-that's all, I just didn't want you expect me to know what to do. That's all." the girl said the words softly. Casting her jade eyes onto the floor.

"I said I know what I'm doing darlin, I didn't say you had to, now come back over here."

Sakura listened to him, and took hesitant steps closer to him. When she stood in front of the young man, he took his arms and laced them around her thin waist, pulling her body closer to him, and he gently pushed her shirt up some, letting the soft delicate skin of her stomach to be shown. He met her eyes first, asking permission with his longing glance, and when she didn't say anything, he let his lips touch her skin. Breathing life back into the embers of the fire they had started earlier, her body started buzzing almost immediately to his touch.

Her heart jumped in her chest, beating rapidly and irregularly, causing her breaths to become odd and irregular as well. She felt warmth blossom in places she hadn't even known existed. It was as if some sort of haze blanketed her mind as the man let his lips roam over her soft stomach gently, she felt his hands wrap around her waist, touching the cooler skin on her back. His fingers trailed up her spine, causing her to shiver slightly, and within seconds she felt the man's lips on her own, demanding entrance to her mouth.

He was standing in front of her now, his fingers lighting fire across her delicate skin. He kissed her, and her eyes closed, letting the beautiful feelings wash over her. She could barely register anything but his body and his lips, she didn't realize he had picked her up and carried her some ways, to another part of his apartment. But when he set her down on something soft and squishy, she broke away from his lips for a moment, looking around, getting a small bearing for where she was.

His room was as dark as the rest of his home seemed to be. His comforter was plush and soft, there were pillows at the top of his bed she knew that she would wake up on the next morning. She continued to look in the room, seeing a desk with a lap top on it sitting against the opposite wall.

Sakura felt his hands on her shoulders, physically telling her that he wanted her full attention again. He kissed her neck, biting on it here and there, causing her to gasp some when he hit her sweet spots. With his hands he gently pushed her back, so that she would be laying on the bed, her heart rate increased even further, eyes dilating as he kissed her.

Sasuke pulled her farther up into the bed with him, holding her hips as they kissed, he let go for a minute to pull his shirt off, and before Sakura realized, she was missing her shirt too. Her skin prickled as the cool air hit it, sending small shivers over her. The man's hands felt warm on her skin, like the softest gentlest things one could be touched with.

His fingers ran over her body, they started on her arms, feeling down along her sides, then down around to her tummy, and finally his fingers found the button on her jeans, and he began to undo her belt, and then unbutton her jeans.

Sasuke felt as the girl's breath caught in her throat, he paused for a second, waiting to make sure she was okay to continue. He was slightly impatient, but he understood that she was still a virgin, so he took as much time as his own body would let him. His heart was pounding his blood through his veins and he was only focused on one thing, but to get there he knew he had to give her time to let him inside.

"You okay?" he whispered it quietly against her lips, he opened his black eyes some and saw that her thin pink brows were furrowed and that she was scared.

"Y-yea," she mumbled out, "I-i'm just sort of nervous," she fell silent for a second, looking at him with her green eyes. "I'm sorry" she said, unsure of the exact reason for why she was sorry.

"Don't be," Sasuke said, "It's your first time, you're aloud to be scared." he kissed her cheek. "If you want to stop I'll stop, I won't force you."

The girl looked up at him, her green eyes wide, but she shook her head slowly. "Better to give it to you than to someone else who would have rapped me at the club."

"You sure?" he asked, smirking slightly down at her.

She nodded her head again, "I just want to know your name before you basically fuck me senseless."

The man let out a deep chuckle at that, "Fuck you senseless? That what you want?" he stuck his tongue out at her. "And my name is Sasuke Uchiha, pleased to meet you here beautiful lady," the girl giggled at this.

Then with her nervousness set aside for the moment Sasuke took the girl's jeans off, along with his own. Both left basically naked, staring at the other. Sakura swallowed her spit.

"W-what now?" she asked.

The young man lifted the edge of the covers, crawling under the blanket and the girl rolled under with him. He gently reached behind her back, kissing her warm lips as he undid her bra strap. "Now I show you a wonderful time darlin," he smiled at her, bringing her now bare chest close to him, kissing her skin and biting her flesh softly as not to hurt her.

Warmth flooded everywhere in the girl, running in her blood, running everywhere in her body. Making her feel hazy and like she wasn't sure what was happening. After moments of him touching her small chest, and kissing it too, his hands slid down to her underwear, slipping them down off of her legs.

A blush ran up her skin, painting her face a similar color to her hair. She thought about what she was doing, and her heart jumped even farther. She was naked in bed with a man she had meet only mere hours before.

"Will it hurt?" the girl asked quietly, the blush still sticking to her cheeks.

"It might," Sasuke said, kissing her lightly, "Just hold onto me if it hurts too bad okay? From what I know it should go away within a few seconds and then they say it feels amazing." the girl opened her mouth again, to say something but no words came out. Then she simply reached up and kissed the man more, feeling all of his skin against hers.

She cried out when it happened, tears coming to her jade eyes, she held onto his shoulders, "Sshh," Sasuke said it gently, "just hold onto me, everything will be fine," he wrapped his own arms around her, keeping her close. He felt like he wanted to keep her from the pain, but he knew he was causing it. "I'm sorry." he whispered to her.

* * *

Sakura woke the next morning, sun wasn't shining into her green eyes but it was considerably lighter in the dark room. She heard soft snoring coming from behind her, and she turned over to see Sasuke sleeping not too far away. She had felt some sort of connection to him, something she wasn't sure how to explain.

She let herself lay there for a few moments, pulling the blanket up to her chin, curling herself into a tight ball. She wondered to herself if she was supposed to leave now, or wait for him to wake up and have a really awkward morning with him. Since she barely knew him.

She gently got up from the bed, trying not to move the mattress too much, she didn't want to wake the sleeping man. Reaching to the floor, she grabbed her clothes, dressing quickly she left his bedroom, walking out to the den area and sitting on one of the couches.

Sasuke opened his charcoal eyes, blinking a few times to rid them of the sleep traces that still hung on them. After reaching up and rubbing his eyes, he rolled on his side, looking at the space on his bed beside him. Black brows furrowed as he realized it was empty.

He quickly threw on black boxers, exiting his bedroom and walking out into the other part of his apartment. "Hello?" he called, rounding the small corner to look at his living room.

That space sat empty as well.

"Sakura," the man called out, "If you're trying to play a trick on me it's really not funny, come out here." he said as he checked all of the small rooms a second time.

He was alone in his apartment, no beautiful pink haired girl was here, there wasn't even a trace of her anywhere.

_'Oh my god, was I fucked up enough to make that story up and then just jack off and make myself believe it was some pretty girl?'_ Sasuke wondered to himself. Plopping down on the couch he sighed, _'I guess no more of that stuff...'_ mentally he cut yesterday's drug off of his trip list.

_'Wait,'_ His black eyes fell to the glass table in front of him. A small paper sat on the clear substance, a tiny note was scrawled in blue pen.

_**I'll be at the park, I'll meet you there if you want to see me again... I'll be there after sunset.**_

The man stared down at the note, not sure what to think. His black eyes ran over the words again and again and again. Confusion flitted across his mind, why did the girl think he didn't want to see her? He had never felt so good with a girl before, never felt something so real, so right. _'Maybe she didn't feel it.'_ he wondered to himself. But in his heart he was sure she had, otherwise she wouldn't have let him take something so precious from her. Something like that was not given away at random, he knew that. He knew she had to be feeling it too.

Sasuke let his black eyes roam, falling on the clock that hung on his wall. 12 o'clock noon. He sighed leaning back in the chair, he threw the piece of paper back onto the table and kicked his legs up on top of the surface. Now he only had to figure out what to do till sunset.

He showered, ate, and then opened his first bottle of vodka for the day, drinking deeply from the bottle's contents, he sighed, contented for the time being to get a buzz off of the simple drink. He contemplated doing other drugs, but he decided he wanted his head a little about him while he went to find his girl again, so he only grabbed his cigarettes, lighting one and letting the smoke wrap itself around his already blackening lungs.

There was knocking at his door a few hours later, smirking to himself, he opened it almost immediately, expecting a small pink haired girl to be standing there. His eyes were not greeted with such a beautiful sight though. A man stood in his doorway, one that had a mustache and a police badge proudly displayed on his chest.

"Uchiha Sasuke?" the man said, looking Sasuke in the eye. The said man nodded, looking at the officer in confusion. "You're under arrest."

"Excuse me?" Sasuke said, backing some away from the door. "I didn't do anything."

"There have been reports from under cover officers that you are in possession of illegal drugs. And for this reason, you are now under arrest. Please face the wall and spread your legs."

"That's bull shit man." Sasuke said, "I don't have any-"

The police man held up a warrant, stepping into Sasuke's apartment. "If you don't, you'll be free to go. But I don't believe you're clean asshole." The man spoke with disdain, as if being here and talking to the Uchiha was below him. "I hate that I'm always assigned to fucking drug addicts, I've busted more of them than you can probably count to. I know what to look for kid, I know the signs, I know the hiding places. I know. You think you can hide anything from me. Not with money, not with 'wit', you can't hide anything from me kid, so better just come clean and tell me where you're fucking stash is."

The black haired Uchiha simply stood there, not opening his mouth for the now investigating policeman.

After a twenty minute inspection, the police man, Randy, had finally found everything the boy had. Marijuana, heroin, Vicoden, Percocet, Valium, Xanax, and blow among many other drugs, perscription and otherwise. Randy raised one of his brown eye brows in victory.

"You didn't have any huh?" the man laughed quietly to himself, looking down at the large pile of drugs now laying on the living room table. "You have quiet a collection here boy, what were you doing with all of these?" Sasuke sat with his lips sealed. "Weren't selling them were you?"

The Uchiha's dark eyes narrowed into a deadly glare. "Not that I think that it's any of your fucking business, but no, I don't fucking sell these. Asshole."

The other man smiled, "Well, you have to come with me now, you understand that right?" Sasuke glared but stood almost immediately. The vodka's happy buzz had left him when this douche bag entered into the apartment. But now even the euphoria from Sakura's sex the night before was dying too, leaving the youngest Uchiha in a very foul mood. He regretted then, only drinking, he should have gotten fucked out of his mind too.

"Say goodbye to your drugs and your apartment my friend," the policeman said smiling at the irritated Sasuke. "You won't be seeing them for a long long time."

* * *

The man looked up at the sky again. The brilliant colors were slowly fading, being over taken by the more dominating violet that leaked into a blackness that would soon hold the entire sky in its hands. His mind wondered where he would be today if he hadn't been arrested that day 6 years ago.

Sasuke let his lungs fill with air, clean fresh air that he never would have swallowed if he hadn't been forced to become clean. He hadn't realized that the path he had walked when he was young was only a path that lead to destruction and pain. He was glad to be rid of it, glad to be someone, and not something.

He used the lurk in shadows, glaring down anyone that dare look him in the eye, he'd fuck any girl pretty enough. But after the pink haired girl... He could never think of anyone else.

He still lost himself in the thoughts of her, the taste of her skin, the curve of her breasts, the smell of her hair, the look in her eye. Everything about her had been soft, her eyes her skin, her electric pink hair. She had been so scared and she let him inside, she let him be the first person ever inside of her.

Sasuke couldn't get it out of his head. Something in his heart ached for that stupid pink haired girl. For the mischievous, alluring jade eyes. He wanted so bad to kiss her again, to have her close to him. Even just to see her would be enough.

The man heard footsteps approach, and he opened his midnight eyes slowly, the sun had fell beneath the horizon, cutting off the light it lent to the world. The air held darkness, making it a bit difficult for the 27 year old to see.

His black eyes widened in the night air. "I never thought you'd be here waiting for _me_ after 6 years," the voice was familiar, yet when he had heard it the first time, 6 years previous, it hadn't been nearly as mature.

"Well I couldn't really come after being arrested, so you'll have to settle for meeting me again today." Sasuke said, slightly smirking to himself as Sakura sat down beside him, her green eyes met his face for a second, then fell back to the rest of the scenery.

"No, I suppose not, but I still would never have guessed to see you here tonight." Sakura smiled slightly to herself. "How have you been Uchiha? Besides the whole going to jail thing I guess?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's been going, unfortunately no drugs, drinking, partying, or sex for a while," the girl laughed hard at that. "So I'm not sure, does that mean bad?"

She shook her head, "No, just sad," she laughed harder, a tear grabbed at her eyes. "So jail cleaned you up then?"

The man nodded, "How about you? What have you been up to?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"About the same." she said, looking away from him. "You know, I never thought I'd see you again."

While the pink head was turned away from him, Sasuke let his eyes run over to the girl's left hand, quickly inspecting for a ring. Silence fell over the two then.

"I never got to tell you thank you either..." Sakura's voice grew soft.

"For what?" the man asked, surprise evident in his handsome voice.

"For giving me that night." she said, her jade eyes rested on the ground. "No one has cared that much about me before, I don't know if you actually did, but it seemed like it... I don't know why you're here, I think I'm just lucky to have ran into you, but I wonder if you actually remember my note of if you just like parks at sunset."

Sasuke didn't say anything, reaching over to her, lacing his larger fingers through her left hand fingers. The fingers that were void of any type of ring. "I was waiting." he said it so quietly the girl almost didn't hear. Her jade eyes grew in the dark. "I was waiting for you." Sasuke repeated. "I had a feeling that you would come back, and here you are. I'm just a little late that's all."

She giggled some. "Just a little?" she asked him skeptically, raising one of her soft pink eyebrows.

"I just had trouble finding you..." he said, "I looked but I couldn't find you after they let me out. I'm sorry."

"Do you feel it too then?" the girl asked, looking up at him through her jade eyes. She watched as he nodded, giving her hand a small squeeze. "Good, I was worried I was the only one."

"I've felt some sort of connection to you when we met, I just didn't want to freak you out and tell you that," Sasuke said. "I just don't know what it means."

"We could try to find out," Sakura offered after a few minutes of silence.

Now Sasuke raised an eyebrow of his own. "How?" he asked, looking at the girl as she thought.

"We could try seeing each other," she proposed, "or leaving each other alone and see if it goes away."

"It has been 6 years, Sakura," Sasuke started. "I still feel it, I doubt it's just going to go away." The girl nodded in agreement.

"Well... we could try and see each other more then I guess."

"I've been waiting here for you for a long time Sakura... I've been visiting this park at sunset almost everyday after I was let out." The girl remained silent, waiting for Sasuke to finish. "Why don't we just meet here everyday we can?"

Sakura nodded, a warm feeling blossoming in her chest when she realized the boy still had his fingers entwined with hers. "I'd like that Sasuke..." she turned to face him, a small smile fell on her lips. "I'd like it a lot."

* * *

**Oh, kae, I dunno if I like my ending, haha, it was the hardest part, and is that considered a lemon? Lol idk anything about them haha,but I hope you all enjoyed :)**

**I got names of drugs out of my favorite book called Exit Here by _Jason Meyers._ Really fantastic book, also where I got Sasuke's "Darlin" from haha, well tell me what you think please, and eff yea! 14 pages, longest story so far :D hahaha**

**review please, lol and thanks for reading **

**peace**

**.love**


	6. slow dance

**So, I was listening to this song called bum bum, "Slow Dance", by Framing Hanley (sorry if I misspelled it,) but I got this idea, so I hope you all enjoy :]**

**Sorry, I probably seemed dead lately, I've been having trouble finishing chapters, problems with [now] ex boyfriends kinda kill you inside, so I'm trying to deal with that, blah I just wanna tell him to go away, :/ but okay, enjoy please :]**

_**This is rated T (for language [basically])**_

_S_T_O_R_Y_

**I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

_Slow Dance_

He stood by the wall, leaning on it, watching as everyone danced by. The girls were dressed in gowns that reached their knees, the other guys were following the ladies around like dogs. It was the Ninja Acadamy's Annual Snow Ball. Fake icicles and snow lay all over the everyday gymnasium, transforming it into a beautiful room.

The music was blasting from the corner of the room that was opposite Sasuke, the tune wasn't bad, he just didn't dance. His black eyes took in the popular girls grinding against each other, he knew they were attempting to acquire the more popular boys' eyes.

The boy stood silently, watching it all go on in front of him. His best friend had drug him here, exclaiming loudly on the way "We'll get you a lady while we're here teme! Believe it!"

But as soon as they entered into the building Sasuke's blond friend was stolen by a shy small girl with black hair and milk colored eyes. She had stuttered out a hello before taking Naruto's hand and leading him god knew where.

The Uchiha moved his gaze away from the girls still dancing on the floor, looking for his idiot friend to tell him he was going to leave. Sasuke pushed himself off of the wall, shaking his head so his fringe wasn't directly in his eyes, but so it was off to the right.

Shoving his hands into his pockets he took steps across the gym floor, walking through groups of people, not bothering to go around. They gave him dirty looks as he went by, but he was used to them, he got them his whole life.

"Sasuke-kun," a small red haired girl with glasses and crimson eyes ran up to him, blushing and smiling slightly. "I-I didn't know you were here," she said it softly. Her dress didn't leave much for the mind to imagine, her breasts were basically falling out and if she were to move a little too quickly the mini dress would fly up and everyone would see underneath.

The charcoal haired teenager didn't grace her with an answer, simply looked at her for a moment to show he heard her, but after he averted his gaze again, looking for Naruto once more.

"Would you dance with me Sasuke-kun?" she asked, reaching a hand out and resting it on his arm.

"No," he said simply, prying himself from her grasp. "I'm leaving now," the girl reached again for his arm.

"O-oh, well I can come with you," she looked up into his black eyes as she said the words, trying to tell him that she wanted him. "We can… you know…" she smiled softly up at him.

The boy shook his head. "No," he repeated. "I don't like you like that Karin." He saw her crimson eyes drop from his face down to the floor as he said the words. He almost felt bad, but it was the truth. He felt nothing for her, even though she tried to make him everyday. "I'll see you later." he said, taking his arm once more from her grasp and put his hands back into his pockets as he walked away from the broken hearted red haired girl.

Sasuke spotted his blond spiky haired friend down the hallway, in a more secluded part of the building. "Dobe," he started, walking closer and gagging a little inside.

The blond pulled back from a very flush small Hyuuga girl. Her lips were ruby and her breath was rapid. Sasuke sighed inwardly to himself. "What?" Naruto asked, a little irritated with his friend's sudden appearance. "Can't you see Hinata-chan and I are very busy?"

"I'm leaving now," Sasuke said, ignoring his friend's comment. "I'll see you at training on Monday." the 17 year old said, now turning away from the two other teenagers.

"Woah woah woah," Naruto said, holding a 'one moment' finger up to Hinata, who nodded and let herself sink quietly to the floor as she waited for the boy to come back to her. Sasuke heard his friend's foot steps as he rushed a little to catch up to the retreating Uchiha.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Naruto asked, his blue eyes piercing into his friend's obsidian orbs. He didn't give Sasuke a chance to answer. "You're not leaving till you find yourself a lady to take back with you. Jeeze," Naruto shook his blond head. "And you call me the idiot."

"I'm not interested in any of these girls Naruto." Sasuke sighed, the only girl he wanted he hadn't run into yet. "I'll just take your car back to your house and then come pick you up when you call. I'm leaving dobe."

Naruto continued to glare. "No, you're not. I have keys, you go back in the gym, it's only another half hour, man up, god." Naruto said, turning away from his black haired friend to returned to his girl.

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell the blond off but he was already gone. The midnight eyed boy walked away, a small growl emanating through his throat. He hated dances and he wanted to deck the blond for forcing him to come.

He was making his way back over to the wall he had previously been leaning on, but a girl was standing there, in his exact spot.

Her pink hair was teased and straight, bright jade eyes ringed with black eyeliner and her skin was deathly pale. Her black dress made it down a little past the mid point on her thighs, the top wrapped itself around her chest, leaving her shoulders and collar bare, only a small silver chain rested on her collar bone. Her green eyes glanced up to him as he walked closer.

"Hi," she smiled a little at him. He nodded at her as a funny feeling emerged into his chest. He took a place beside her, leaning against the wall. "You look very nice tonight, Sasuke," she giggled a little to herself, a small musical thing that made the boy's heart jump in his chest. He took a chance and let his black eyes glance over at her. Her jade eyes were resting on him and he immediately dropped his orbs when she saw him looking at her. She giggled again at him, smiling.

"Thanks," he mumbled quietly, he took a chance and let his eyes meet her again, "You do too, Sak," the small giggle escaped the girl's lips once more, and feeling slightly embarrassed he dropped his gaze again.

"Thank you," he could hear the smile in her soft voice, and he felt heat start to make its way up his neck and over his ears, he prayed a thank you for darkness to god, so that the girl couldn't see it. "I didn't know you liked dances," the girl said, letting herself watch the dance floor once more, cringing when she saw the small red haired girl glare at her.

"I don't" Sasuke said, also catching Karin's glares. He sighed inwardly to himself once more. She was a psycho, he was just standing with another girl, he wasn't even with Karin. Not that he ever wanted to be.

"Oh," he saw the girl's pink eyebrows furrow in some confusion. "Then why are you here?" Sakura asked him.

"Naruto." that was all he had to say, and the girl immediately understood, nodding from beside him.

They stood for a few more seconds, letting the loudness from all their classmates and the music flow over them as they stood together in silence.

Within seconds a more delicate melody came on, casting a completely different atmosphere in the room. The girls all excitedly looked around, searching for prey, while the guys did the same, trying to get their hands on the girl they liked. Couples gathered on the floor, boy's holding the girls close to their bodies as they led, and turned them in small soft circles.

Sasuke's onyx eyes widened as he saw the red haired girl make a bee line towards him, he quickly turned to the cute pink haired girl that stood beside him. "Will you dance with me please," he asked hurriedly, not waiting for an answer as he took her into his arms, his black eyes wide, hoping it was quick enough to throw Karin off his back.

He turned himself and the girl in his arms around a few times before he dared to look up, and when he did, he though the red haired girl was going to explode, her crimson eyes looked like fire as she glared daggers into the small girl that Sasuke held in his arms.

He sighed audibly as Karin headed out of the gym, though he could see the tears in her eyes as she went.

The pink haired girl looked up at him. "Why are you sighing?" she questioned.

Sasuke looked down at her, "Karin was trying to get a slow dance with me and asked for me to take her home with me," he said it simply, holding the girl's thin waist, his heart jumped in his chest at the proximity. Sakura oh-ed and the boy simply nodded at her. The two danced together in silence for a minute or so before the girl opened her mouth.

"Sasuke?" the girl asked, letting her eyes fall from him.

"Hn?" he grunted questioningly.

"C-can I tell you something?" she looked up at the boy in front of her for a second, before blushing. Her jade eyes fell from him once more. "I mean, there's only about 10 minutes left, and I want to tell you something."

"Aa." was all that emitted from his throat.

He saw the pink tint in her cheeks deepen, and the feeling in his chest deepened. He couldn't think of her as annoying anymore, she was just adorable. "I know… that you don't like me," his black eyes picked up traces of unhappiness lace into her eyes as she said the words. "B-but, even though you don't, this means a lot to me." Sasuke's heart fluttered once more when the pink haired girl graced him with a small smile. "I'm glad I got to dance with you Sasuke,"

It was a moment before either knew what was happening, and Sasuke couldn't control himself as he leaned forwards, gently placing his soft lips against the girl's flush cheeks. They felt warm against his lips as he left them there for a short time, his black eyes closed as he kissed her cheek. When he pulled away his heart was beating furiously, throbbing in his chest, making him feel sick with nervousness. He immediately regretted his actions, black brows furrowing he dropped his hands from the girl's waist stepping back from her.

He felt his blood pulsing in his veins, heat running up his neck and even into the tips of his ears. "I… I'm sorry," he said quickly before turning abruptly and walking away from her. His hands once again jammed into his pockets, and his shoulders seemed to hunch slightly as he walked, disappointed in himself for his actions.

The slow song that had been playing came to a close as the pink haired girl stared after the boy that had held her so sweetly. A sigh of her own escaped her lips as she watched his retreating back. "Oh Sasuke," she murmured quietly to herself, lifting one of her hands to the cheek he had kissed.

* * *

"Come on idiot." Sasuke said, grabbing his blond friend by the collar, "We're leaving now."

Naruto squirmed in his friend's grip, "What the hell Sasuke?" Hinata giggle quietly to herself as he was dragged away from her. "I'll see you at Ichiraku's right Hinata-chan?" the petite girl nodded as he was dragged away, and he smiled broadly at her before gaining his legs again and walking with his onyx eyed friend.

Sasuke quickened his pace, his mind was racing, unsure of what he had done with a close friend, unsure if he had ruined it or what even happened.

* * *

"Sasuke, just tell me what happened," Naruto whined for the millionth time since the dance 3 days previous. The silent teenager didn't answer. "Sasuke, it couldn't have been that bad."

The two boys heard footsteps coming closer and a grin broke over Naruto's face, the blond wasn't paying attention, otherwise he would have seen the pink that suddenly appeared on Sasuke's ears. The rose haired kunoichi stepped closer to the boys, smiling back at Naruto as she walked up to them.

"Morning Naruto," her voice dropped slightly, afraid of what the black haired boy would do to her. "Sasuke,"

"Good morning Sakura-chan!" Naruto practically yelled at her.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, turning and looking out, down from the orange bridge they stood on, waiting for their ever late sensei. The boy's heart leapt into his throat, trying not to fidget or show any sort of emotion slip past his normally indifferent mask.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the three, Naruto had attempted to talk about his newly acquired girlfriend, the small Hyuuga girl. But Sakura's less than enthusiastic reply quieted him. The pink haired girl pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders, it was getting chilly out, even the two boys had opted for heavier clothing from the colder weather.

She sighed and her breath started to form into a white puffy cloud, she let herself shrink down so that she was sitting on the ground.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto started, "What's wrong?" the said girl looked at him questioningly.

"What do you mean Naruto?" she laughed quietly, "I'm fine silly," she waved him off. And if he had seen through her fake laugh, and her thin lie, then he didn't show it.

"Oh," the blond, ocean blue eyed teenager said, "You've just been sighing a lot, like Sasuke-bastard, and I remember that the third Hokage said something about it one time, but I don't know if that applies here."

Sasuke's ears perked up from his position when his name was spoken, or the rendition of his name, he would never tell Naruto that he answered to 'Sasuke-bastard'. "What did the third tell you Naruto?" Sakura asked, sitting in front of him, letting her eyes meet his.

"That when two people sigh a lot it means they're in love." he said simply. He didn't see his teammates reactions for at the very moment the words left his mouth Pakkun ran up to the 3 waiting ninja.

"Pakkun?" Naruto's blue eyes changed position to look at the small Leaf dog.

The small brown dog coughed twice and then sat down in front of them all, his coat shook as he shivered from the cold. "Kakashi sent me to tell you that he had to cancel training today."

"But why?" Sakura asked before Sasuke could open his mouth to ask the same question.

The dog shrugged his shoulders, "Mission from Lady Tsunade I suppose," he stood then, turning away from the younger ninja, "I'll see you all later." he said before running off in the direction he came.

Naruto stood then, and stretched some, "Well, more time for me and my Hinata-chan then."

"You don't want to train Naruto?" Sasuke asked, getting up from leaning against the handrail on the bridge.

The blond shook his head. "Nope, not today teme, I told Hinata I would meet her for lunch, so I can go pick her up now, so I'll see you guys later, I'm sure Sakura would want to train with you. Later," he jumped up to the nearest roof and started his way towards his dear Hinata's house.

Sakura stretched when she stood too, feeling a little sore from sitting down on the cement. She looked over at Sasuke and felt a blush crawl up her skin as she saw he was already watching her.

"So how about it?" the boy asked quietly, his voice soft and low.

The girl looked at him confused, not knowing what he was asking. "How about what?" she asked, her brows furrowing up on her forehead.

"Training?" Sasuke's voice was still low.

The girl shook her head, "I trained with Tsunade yesterday and I'm still pretty drained from it, I'm sorry." she said, feeling terribly awkward standing there with him.

"Don't worry," the boy said, his eyes were staring at the dirty ground below his feet. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Do you think Naruto was right?" Sakura asked more out of impulse than anything. Sasuke's black eyes darted to the girl's pretty face, and he shrugged. "I mean, I know you don't like me, so he couldn't be right," she laughed lightly, and Sasuke knew it was the fake kind she fed the blond earlier.

"Don't do that."

Sakura's jade eyes jumped to the teenager's face. "What?" she asked.

"I know you're not happy, don't pretend to be." he said simply. She nodded and let her eyes linger on his face, wondering why it mattered to him whether she was or not. "And maybe he is right."

He said it so quietly she almost didn't hear, almost didn't hear the statement. "Excuse me?" Sakura asked confused.

"Maybe the stupid third is right," Sasuke repeated a smidgen louder. And before the girl could ask what exactly he meant by that, he dropped his lips onto hers.

It was a soft and sweet kiss. Letting his soft lips graze against her equally soft ones, the girl felt Sasuke's long dark eyelashes across her delicate skin as he closed his obsidian eyes as he kissed her. The girl's heart jumped in her chest, feeling like a tiny scared bird, fluttering and twitting this way and that in the confines of her chest.

She could smell him, and it was wonderful, a masculine scent, but with slight traces of sweetness lacing its way through, a perfect smell that just pulled her in. She felt his hands find her waist and he pulled her closer to his body and she let him.

Sasuke finally let the girl's lips free, looking down at her through his black lashes and fringe of charcoal bangs, she caught a hidden glimpse of how much he actually cared for her in his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to register what had just taken place.

The boy rested his forehead against Sakura's as he watched her, hoping that she wouldn't escape from his fingers. "Why did you walk away from me?" the girl asked, and when she saw his confused expression she added, "During the dance, after you…"

Sasuke's heart quicken even farther, feeling like the red thing would just explode out of his chest. There was a murmuring of words that escaped his lips but the girl could not understand them.

"What?" she asked him, looking at him as his black eyes glanced away. He repeated it but it was just as quiet, "Sasuke I can't hear you." she said softly.

"Scared."

The word had seemed to stick in his throat when he tried to utter it, pulling out an entire world of thoughts in both of the teenagers' minds. "But why?" the girl asked, letting her arms rest around his shoulders, entwining her fingers through his soft pitch black hair, he was a few inches taller than her and she had to look up to see into his onyx orbs.

"I don't want to lose you as a friend," he said softly, unintentionally his arms pulled her tighter. "I thought I crossed the line."

He saw her smile at him and he was surprised to find her lips pressed to his once more. She pulled away quickly. "It wouldn't ruin our friendship silly," she smiled shyly at him. "You know I love you."

His lips pulled up ever so gently, the first real smile she had ever seen on the boy's face., it made her own heart swell in her chest, he was handsome when he smirked, or made no emotional expression at all, but to see him really smile, it was something to die for. "I love you too," he said quietly and he met her soft intoxicating lips once more.

* * *

**Yay, okay well that was a sweeter one ne? And sorry if Sasuke seemed out of character at the end or through it, I tried to keep him at least semi in character, and I was gonna put Karin in at the end, but I don't like her and didn't feel like trying to write her in again, let's just say she's irritated that Sasuke (of coarse,) chooses Sakura over her. But I dunno if Karin actually has red eyes, I had to look at pictures on the internet, so hopefully that was right, and idk if I did her character, I've never seen her outside of fan fiction, so sorry if it wasn't right.**

**Please drop me a review they make me smile :}**

**Thanks for reading!**

**peace,**

**.love**


	7. dance on the edge

**Okay, so I know this is a good bit shorter than the other one shots I've written, but it just sorta stopped here, and it feels right to me, where it ends I mean, lol. So here it is, hope you all enjoy :]**

I don't own Naruto, though I wish so much I did :]

_**this is rated T** (theres really no important reason, it just is)_

time for a short story :D

* * *

_dance on the edge_

The pink haired girl ran with her thin arms thrown wide, running in front of the raven haired young man behind her. She giggled as she ran closer to the concrete creating a bridge. When her feet hit the concrete, she pounced up onto the edge of the protective ledge that protected cars and vehicles from falling off of the bridge. She looked over the drop of concrete, down into the water below. The full moon glowed on the water's surface, reflecting it's radiant light back up into her eyes.

Her green eyes twinkled as she stood up slowly and carefully from her initial crouched position. Then, deeming it safe, she twirled on the edge of the concrete bridge, smiling as she threw her arms out once more, twirling faster and faster. The boy's black eyes couldn't keep up with her as she moved in circles closer and closer to the edge.

"Sakura," his voice said weakly, looking up at her. "Please come down."

Her face turned towards his for a second, "Its the most wonderful and beautiful feeling," she said as a grin adorned her face, "Haven't you ever dance on the edge?" she asked and laughed at him when alarm seemed to seep through his eyes. "Silly boy, come up here and dance with me, we won't fall I promise," she said sweetly. "Just take my hand."

He looked at her skeptically for a moment, before heaving himself up onto the tall, hard concrete. His black eyes were wide and the moon made his skin glow iridescent. The young woman's smile increased.

"See there you are," she raised her hand to him, and he took it in his shaking palm gently. "Was that so hard silly?" she took his other arm too, and then started to twirl both of them around in, what seemed to the boy, were never ending circles.

Her laugh sprinkled over his skin at his clumsy steps. "You have to lift your feet," she hummed slightly, her own skin was lit up by the moon's pale silver light, "If you don't we will almost definitely fall." he tried to lift his heavy feet higher, so they wouldn't make him trip up.

"We're going to fall and die," he said quietly, continuing to twirl with the girl. _'But if I fall with you, then I know I'll be fine.'_

Her laughter rang once again into the night around them, "Well when you talk like that we just might," she circled around and her feet flew out over the edge of the bridge. The boy inhaled quickly, maneuvering the girl's weight so that they both fell the opposite way. Landing on the concrete of the actual bridge, the wind was knocked out of both of them. "I told you," she said, looking down into his face, her jade eyes still seemed to dance crazily.

The boy didn't say anything but stared up at the girl, their hands were still linked and a far part of his mind wondered if he was supposed to let her soft small hands go now. Smiling once more, the girl leaned in closer to him, her sweet scent filled the boy's nose, making him feel quite odd. His mind felt itself hazing over as their lips gained contact.

She tasted as sweet as her aroma. Her lips were soft and he was gentle with her, as gentle as he could be, she seemed so delicate, like if he kissed her too hard she would just shatter and cut him. He felt her heart fluttering in her chest as she leaned against him and into the sweet soft kiss they were sharing. His own heart jumped and pounded in his chest cavity. His red sticky blood flowing through his veins, rushing through his ears and traveling even the whole way into his toes.

He smiled into the kiss as the girl laced her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers into his soft inky black hair. His hands found her slim waist and he pulled her closer, basking in the radiant feeling her lips gave him.

It felt like he were flying and falling all at the same time. The most exhilarating feeling entered into every one of his nerves. He felt like he was on fire, but... like he was drowning too, as if the girl's lips were the only thing keeping him alive. So many feelings were in that kiss, too many to sort through at one time. The only feeling he could compare it to was his own mind's image of what heaven would feel like. She felt like happiness on his lips, letting her joy and giddiness leak through his mouth and into his own being, the feeling swelling in his chest, and bursting back at her with more force than he ever thought his heart possible of exerting.

The young woman leaned back away from him then, gently removing her swollen, red lips from his. He smiled up at her, he felt so happy, maybe something someone else would call complete, like they could die happy. His black obsidian eyes watched the pink haired girl as she smiled shyly back at him, shy as if she had just realized what had just transpired.

He thought his heart was going to explode as the girl leaning on his chest smiled. She was so beautiful to him, and his mind decided that's what he wanted to do for as long as he could. Make her smile that radiant, to die for smile.

"I told you it was a wonderful feeling," the girl hummed, gently settling her head back onto the boy's chest. Her short pink hair was long enough to fall on the boy's shoulder as her head rested on him.

"What?" he asked, somewhat confused. He laced his long fingers in the girl's soft hair, twisting the strands around his fingers.

She moved her head a little, so she could look into his onyx eyes from her spot on his chest. She smiled. "Dancing on the edge silly." Her jade orbs were twinkling and gleaming with happiness. She felt a calmness in her chest, a content feeling that told her she wanted to lay on this young man for a long time, she wanted to share a lot of things with him. Thoughts, ideas, actions, she wondered silently to herself, maybe she wanted to share everything with him.

"That wasn't an edge," his deep voice was so sweet to her ears, she closed her eyes for a few seconds as she listened to him. "You're the silly one," he said softly, still touching her rose hair. "It was a kiss."

Her smile widened, and she opened her eyes to look up at him, they became delicate with remembering the kiss they had just shared. "It was most definitely an edge." she said tenderly, letting one of her hands trace small shapes on his chest beside her head.

"We didn't even dance," he pointed out, "you said dancing on the edge is a beautiful feeling, we didn't dance," he said, his hand moved from her hair to her back, running his hand up and down her spine slowly.

She hummed again when his fingers ran over her back. Her eyes still closed. "Yes we did," she giggled then, almost musically to the male's ears. She gently nestles her head into his chest, breathing in his sweet masculine scent deeply, she murmured the words quietly as she spoke them. "Our lips did."

* * *

**I got this idea from Pierce the Veil's song 'The Balcony Scene' its a fantastic song, and it inspired me to write this :] thank you all for reading, and I promise, I'm working on a few other stories too, and one shots, I hope to update again soon :)**

**review please, and tell me what you think **

_peace everyone_

_a. rose .love_


	8. doctor

**Teehee, :] um, haha, _sweat drop_ yea I know, forever right? Does it feel like a super long time to you guys too? It always does to me…. Anywho, this story took legitimately like a month and three days to finish, crazy huh? I hope it was worth it :] and pardon me for so long between updates, my stories are sort of on hold till I get my head about me, I have these great ideas and get so so so excited to let you guys see them and I never have the actual story finished first, so I'm working on that, so soon okay? I promise :)**

**[pre important note for my own sanity, this wasn't all my idea, I just want to put it out there that I read a quiz on quizilla that had to do with friends and being doctors when they were little, I just put it to Naruto and made it super radtastic, I hope no ones offended, just saying, that's where I originally got the idea from (mind you I read that quiz 3-4 years ago)]**

**Anyways:**

**_Rated M, language, self mutilation, and a lot of angst :3_**

**I don't own Naruto! _crys_**

**Writers + randomness = stories (and sometimes love :) )**

* * *

_Doctor._

She gazed up at him softly, a look of concern filled her features. Her light eye brows furrowed and she chewed on her lip quietly, trying to think of words to say to the broken looking boy before her. His charcoal eyes were downcast, black bags hung deep beneath them, casting his face in a deathly, ghastly appearance. His clothes were rumpled and he looked tired as hell.

"I-I'm sorry about your brother, Sasuke," her eyes still rested on him from her position on his bedroom floor. There were crumpled papers, uncapped pens, and broken tipped pencils scattered around the girl. His bedroom was a mess. Clothes lay scattered around, books lay in heaps in corners, empty water bottles and wrappers joined the mess too. Sakura sighed. The male wasn't usually like this. Normally he had sharp comebacks and that irritating, slightly adorable smirk nestled on his lips.

But not now, not today. Today he looked broken and dejected. As if he were the only one god had ever forsaken.

"Don't worry about it." he said lowly, his deep voice quiet and shattered.

Her eyes ran over him once more, he was perched up on his desk, one knee bent up with an arm resting on it, his other leg hanging down from the wooden structure. Sakura sighed, a part of her heart ached greatly for him. A part of her broke off and died for him when she saw that his brother, the only family he had ever had, was dead. Killed, murdered, stabbed to death. The only family he had was taken from him. And a part of the small girl died with him when she heard.

"I'm just sorry." she murmured. "You shouldn't have to go through that."

The boy ignored her, silence fell between them for a handful of seconds, neither willing to break it, and neither knew what to say to break it.

"Do you remember when we were little Sakura?" Sasuke's eyes became nostalgic, the corners crinkling slightly with the memories he was recalling, his pupils dilating. His voice became faded, like he wasn't really talking to the girl who was with him. "We hung out everyday, and you used to make me play doctor with you." he laughed darkly to himself. "You were so hell bent on becoming a doctor, and you said I had to help. 'We're best friends, Sasuke, so you have to help me become a doctor.'" The teenager shook his head. "We were, like 7, what little girl wants to become a doctor when she's 7?" he spared her a glance then, and for a split second Sakura saw into his soul. It was black, and stained, she saw so much pain in that split second look, and she shuddered quietly, another piece of her breaking and dying.

"Yea? Well you swore to me you'd marry me someday, and we were like, 5 then." she laughed as he wrinkled his nose at the memory.

"You were talking about marrying _Naruto. _I was just going to save you from a very irritating future." the girl laughed at his words. Just like a boy, to try and cover up the sweetest thing he did with fake excuses to make himself look tough.

"Hinata found him though," she said softly, thinking about their closest friends. "And they're perfect together."

"I still think someday she will just snap and stab him in his sleep." Sasuke said, eyes falling away from the pretty pink haired girl across from him. "I swear she will, she's too nice to him. She'll just snap someday at his stupidity."

Sakura laughed again, "No, Hinata is just a very patient loving girl." Sasuke glanced at her with doubt.

"Yes, but it's Naruto, he could drive anyone crazy."

Sakura didn't reply that time, memories from their childhood and thoughts of their friends were floating through her mind, taking up the majority of her concentration. Funny thing growing up, it made you miss the little stupid things you used to hate.

"Can we play it once more before I have to go?" the words were gossamer thin as they traveled from the boy's lips.

"Play what?" Sakura asked, one of her eyebrows raised on her forehead. _'Where do you have to go?'_ she thought the question silently to herself. Knowing if she gave it enough time he would divulge the information.

"Doctor," the teenager murmured gently, his black eyes falling from her face once more, resting on the deep blue carpet.

Sakura contemplated telling him no, that they were both seventeen now, they weren't children, they didn't need to play those silly games anymore. The rose haired girl opened her mouth to tell him so, but at the last second she saw how he was shaking. He tried to hide it by keeping his hands in his lap, but they shook all the same. "Yes," she said almost inaudibly, her eyes still resting on his shaking hands, then they jumped up to watch his shoulders shake as he let his feet hit the floor as he got down from his desk.

The girl took his outstretched hand, letting him help her get up from her position on the floor. He dropped her hand as soon as she was vertical. With the feeling of his warmth gone, she felt somewhat alone. Sakura followed him through the few rooms in the small house he shared with his adoptive father, Kakashi. The walls were plain white, few pictures hung on them, the ones that did decorate the dull walls were of them together when Sasuke was young. Kakashi's single eye would be crinkled, obviously smiling at the energetic handful of a boy that he had chosen to raise on his own.

"Where are we going?" the girl asked, her voice was faint as she asked. He was headed towards the French doors that led out into the backyard.

"The doctor's office has always been in the tree house." he replied easily, quickly angling himself to look at her before swiftly turning away from her to continue on to his destination.

A tiny 'oh' was breathed out of the girl. She paused for a second, standing in the living room unsure for a moment before following the teenager outside.

It was colder than she expected it to be outside. The vibrant green grasses gave the impression of summer warmth, though the deep tones in the trees gave indication that a rain storm had just passed. The air smelled sweet, as a small wind danced past her, brushing across the skin of her arms and tossing her short rose hair. A shiver broke over her. Autumn was coming, the climate was already showing signs of it. The green grass was the only thing that summer still had his hand on.

She lifted her lustrous jade eyes from the equally radiant ground, setting them instead on the male's back.

She noticed his stride was lacking its normal purpose. His shoulders weren't straight, he was slouching forwards, his large hands jammed into the front pockets of his black and white horizontal stripped zip-up hoodie. Her eyes ran down over his legs for a moment, the legs of his skinny jeans were over his black Converse high tops. Her orbs lingered for a moment on his ass, and pink laced quickly up her cheeks. Looking up hastily, she averted her eyes to look at his hair. His shadow filled hair, that stuck up in odd angles, spiking in the back and hanging into his inky eyes. Sakura smiled to herself, remembering how he used to be self conscious of it, how he tried to force it to stay down in the back. Going so far as to use gel and even tried straightening it once. Though, no matter what he did, it would jump back up defiantly, mocking him with it's disobedience.

She missed Sasuke stop in front of her as she lost herself in her reminiscing, consequently stepping right into his back and bumping off of him. She stumbled but didn't fall, catching herself as she laughed at her own clumsiness. After straightening up, Sakura's lime eyes meeting Sasuke's ebony orbs. One of his raven eyebrows was cocked on his forehead. The girl reached a hand to her head, scratching it in an embarrassed manner, "Um, sorry," she giggled lightly, "I'm okay."

The teenager beside her shrugged slightly, nodding to her before reaching one of his long arms up to grab the rope ladder that led up to the old tree house, aka doctor's office. He rested his weight on it for a moment, putting his foot in the lowest rung, and jumping on it, seeing if it would hold him before they started climbing up it. Deeming it safe, he backed away from it for a second, his gaze falling onto Sakura, waiting.

"You go first." he said quietly, his dark eyes continuing to rest on her. She opened her mouth, to question him, but he cut her off. "So if you fall I can catch you, now just go." his voice was hushed as he spoke, like it hurt him to talk anymore.

Sakura closed her gapping mouth, nodding quickly before taking the twisted, rough strands into her hands, and she began pulling herself up. Leaves brushed over her face, and branches reached for her as she climbed up the unruly tree. It had been unattended to since their younger years, being unused there wasn't a point in Kakashi trying to keep it tamed.

The pink haired girl made it up into the small building, hoisting herself up onto the hard wooden floorboards. After pulling herself the whole way through the small opening, she stood, letting her eyes take in the objects she hadn't seen for years and years. Dust sat in thick layers on everything, an abandoned bees nest hung in one of the corners, spider webs littered the walls, and dried, crinkled leaves were strewn across the dusty floor.

The two beanbag chairs still sat on the old, worn floor. A pink one for her, and a blue one for Sasuke. She smiled softly to herself, remembering the many conversations they had had resting on those beanbag chairs. Silly conversations and more serious ones as well. There were other toys laying on the floor too, ones from their childhood. Favorite toys among other more expendable ones. She let her eyes glance to the square hole cut into the side of the room, a makeshift window. It let plenty of light in, making everything visible. Sakura walked over to it as Sasuke pulled himself into the room. Her verdant eyes scanned the sky from the open hole in the wall, wondering silently to herself if it would rain again that day.

"My heart hurts." Sasuke said, his normally deep rich voice sounded hollow as he said the words. He shoved his hands back into the pockets of his hoodie, his black eyes falling from her face, as if he were embarrassed he had asked her to do something so childish again. She could tell he was still shaking. "Fix it," he mumbled.

The petite girl shook her rose head. "Doctor's offices are clean and spotless, silly. We have to clean this out first." the male sighed, stepping past her to the back of the small building, where a closet stood. He opened it and pulled out two brooms. Handing her one, he immediately got to work, starting in the corners where most of the dust was congregated.

The girl watched him for a few seconds, how his body stretched to move the simple plastic broom, how his face angled to see where he was sweeping. She smiled softly to herself as she turned around away from him, into the opposite corner to start her own sweeping. Her light blue Converses crunched the brittle leaves into nothing but pieces as she moved through the small space, evicting the dust out through the hole in the floor they had entered through, Sasuke was breaking the spider webs and busting the old bees nest from the wall.

After the final pile was swept out of the hole, Sasuke's onyx eyes fell to the girl. "Better?" he asked as he coughed from inhaling the particles of dust they had stirred.

She nodded, eyes still taking in the now clean space, before they fell back to the teenager to her left. "Yes," she leaned her broom against the wall before she met the boy's pools. "Better." she repeated his word.

They stood staring at each other for a handful of silent seconds, both felt slightly uncomfortable and awkward. Finally the boy spoke again.

"My heart hurts." he said faintly.

Sakura nodded, "Well step into my office and I'll take a look at you." she said, wondering if he would play along or if he had something else in mind.

Surprisingly he obeyed, stepping closer to her side. He stared down at her from his vantage point.

"Lay down," she spoke, and again, he obeyed. Firstly sitting down as Sakura did, but then with a look he leaned back, settling himself on the floor in front of her. He watched her with his intense shadowed eyes. Something in the look he was giving her made her own heart hurt.

She moved from her sitting position so that she was kneeling beside him. Then she placed her fingers over the pulsing section of his strong neck. His skin was soft and smooth, his flesh pulsed under the minimal pressure she had applied to feel it. She removed her fingers from his elegant neck, Sakura placed her hands on the rough wood and leaned over him, sticking her ear to the left part of his chest. Listening to the beating of his heart.

It was racing and pumping like crazy.

"Well?" he asked lowly, the resonance of his voice sounded so sweet when she was that close to him.

Sakura ignored his prying for the moment, instead she leaned away from him, settling back into a cross-legged position. She reached one of her hands out, taking his larger one in both of hers. Her slender fingers ran over his palm, and the slight dampness there confirmed her suspicion.

'_I wonder if I can feel his pulse through his wrist…'_ the random thought flew through her mind._ 'with his heart racing so hard it would have to be really obvious.'_

Deciding to act on her small impulse, she brought the hand she had in custody closer. She took the smooth fabric of his hoodie sleeve into her hand, pushing it up to his elbow so she could view the skin she was inspecting.

"What are you doing?" the boy demanded, immediately sitting up. "Don't." There was a harsh under-lacing to his normally sweet, mellow voice. It made the normally calming sound into a more piercing serious tone.

Sakura felt his now exposed arm tense in her hands. "I can never find pulses in peoples' wrists, and your heart is beating rapidly, so I was going to see if I can feel yours." she said the words easily. The girl attempted to turn his arm in her grasp, so she could see the flesh she was probing. "I want to see, so if you'll just flip your stupid arm over," she struggled to try and force his limb to move. "I can do it real quick and then it'll be done like it never happened." she ground her teeth, getting irritated with the boy's stubbornness. "Sasuke, please? It'll just take a second."

"No."

She glared up at him, her green eyes drilling into him. "It's just a stupid pulse, Sasuke, come on. Just let me find it."

Silence ate them, leaving them in a staring contest, neither blinking, nor talking, and it was hard to tell if they were even breathing. Finally Sasuke's shadowed eyes narrowed into slits, and seconds later his wrist flipped with a strength Sakura barely ever witnessed. Her hands were jarred from their previous positions, but all the same, the arm was now exposed, and she was free to find his pulse.

A small gasp was emitted from the woman's lips, her verdant eyes widening in horror at the scene she saw.

Scars. Numerous, deep, puckered, painful scars. Laced all along his skin, over the tendons and tender flesh, like tight ribbons that held him together. He laced himself together with ribbons of blood. The sight made the girl feel sick. They were so tight, one right beside the others some over lapping, causing the cut to be deeper. Lacerations over his pale, pale skin, jagged edges crisscrossed, teasing his life every time he decided to play the dangerous game. Some of them were old, and some were new. Faded, or newly fading, but there. Always there.

"Oh Sasuke," Sakura breathed, her jade eyes filling with tears, her heart jumping in her chest as she let her fingertips trace gently over his tender flesh.

He let her touch his arm for mere moments before he felt caged like an animal. He felt his heart in his throat as her fingers grazed over his marred arm. "Stop," his voice sounded hollow as he spoke the word, tugging at his arm, wanting it back. He wanted it all back. His arm, his secret, his heart. All of it.

"Sasuke-"

"Stop." the male spoke, cutting her off, his obsidian eyes narrowed faintly, not necessarily angry with the petite girl in front of him.

No one was supposed to know. This secret was his, and his alone. He was supposed to be able to bare it by himself, it was his responsibility. Not his friends', or his father's, and especially not his Sakura's. Not his precious Sakura. He didn't want anyone to know, but especially not her. She was innocent, she was delicate.

She didn't need to know of his scars. He didn't want her to know of the bright red blood on his hands. The blood that was his brother's.

She couldn't know that was why he had to leave.

The boy's mind began to race and yell. It screamed and pounded into his now aching head.

He couldn't tell her he was the one who killed Itatchi.

She was far too innocent and breakable.

He was leaving because Kakashi felt he no longer had control over the teenager. The older man didn't want a troubled youth in his house any longer. He didn't want to live with a murderer. Kakashi didn't want a son who couldn't be what he wanted the boy to be.

Sasuke felt something warm and soft on his face. He lifted his ink eyes from his shaking hands and took Sakura in, sitting in front of him. Her green eyes soothing his raving mind. His delicate little Sakura. His innocent, breakable, vulnerable Sakura.

Why did she have to know his secret?

The boy felt her take her warm small hand from his cheek, leaving him feeling alone all over again. Something wet fell over his cheeks then. Something hot that left a small trail, and when it landed on his lips he could taste the saltiness of it. He reached his free hand up to wipe his face. His other arm was still in Sakura's custody, as if she imagined being in her arms would heal his scar tissue.

"You're crying." the words were simple, short, and spoken with such gentleness that the male wasn't sure if the girl had said anything at all. But he heard, and he heard the traces of confusion that laced its way through her tone. Her light eyebrows were furrowed on her forehead, marring it with temporary wrinkles. "Why?" she asked as she chewed softly on her lip.

Sasuke shook his head no, silent tears still running from his obsidian eyes. He felt broken and he hated it. He pulled weakly against the girl's grasp for his arm once more. Gently tugging at the appendage to try and regain control over it. He wished he could just take care of it himself.

He just wanted to be alone with his sharp metal friend. Let it bite into his already scarred arms a few more times. And after his sharp little friend bit him, making his pretty crimson blood flow, he wanted to go lay down somewhere, to pass out or maybe even pass away from blood loss. He wanted nothing else at that moment.

The young woman let the silence linger for a few moments, "Do you want to do it now?" her slim fingers traced over his lacerated arms tenderly, quietly letting him know what she was talking about. Her large lime eyes were wide as she looked up at him. The young man saw tears in the female's eyes as she watched him, her light eyebrows knitted tightly on her forehead.

His midnight eyes fell from the small girl's face, his free hand tightened into a fist. "Very much," he mumbled lowly, feeling completely drained and exhausted.

Emotions, emotions, emotions. He was a murderer, but… he avenged his parents. He hated his brother but there was a part of him that couldn't let him go. He had feelings but didn't want them. He had a heart but he wanted to cut it out. He wanted to be alone but he didn't either. He wanted to tell Sakura, he needed her, but he couldn't do it to her.

"Fuck," he murmured faintly, his fist tightened farther, his short fingernails dug into his palm sharply. "Stop thinking. Stop thinking." he hissed, "..stop."

"Sasuke?"

The male ignored her and finally ripped his arm from her hands, upsetting one of his more recent cuts. The flesh pulled apart some, blood trickled out down over his pale skin. He strode on long legs over to the square hole in the floor that they had come through. Crouching down he jumped from the high wooden platform, landing gracefully on his feet on the hard ground below, his knees bent momentarily, absorbing the impact. Then straightening, he stalked quickly into the house, throwing open the glass doors and disappearing from the girl's view.

"Sasuke!" she yelled at the house he escaped into from her position in the tree house. "Damn it," she muttered, sighing to herself as she got up from the floor, her mind racing to try and figure out what to do. She ran hurriedly to the hole Sasuke had jumped through, and she was about to jump down to the ground below, then she thought of her height disadvantage and grabbed the rope instead.

She scurried down over the fibrous material. In her haste her foot caught in a rung and she fell half way down to the ground.

Air rushed past her lips as her small body made contact, the ground knocking the wind out of her, making her feel lightheaded before she even moved a muscle. Her breathing came in slight gasps and black dots swam across her jade eyes.

* * *

"Nnn" the girl moaned, her head was pounding and she swore she felt blood wetting her hair, but when she raised a shaking hand to touch the spot, there was no redness on her fingers.

She laid there on the cold grass for a few more moments, and within seconds she felt spatters on her face. Sakura opened her jade eyes and rain spit into them, the clouds above her had darkened, and they were dumping their water onto the world. Crying for a reason unknown to the teenager.

The young woman took a breath then, inhaling the air into her lungs, waiting for a moment to see if it would hurt. When it didn't, she rolled onto her stomach, lifting herself up on her hands and knees, before finally getting to her feet. They swayed below her as she stepped towards the house.

"Sasuke?" she murmured as she walked through the same hallway that they had passed through earlier in the day. No voice answered her, but she heard soft sobbing, and she kept going and entered into his room. The girl noticed the mess inside all over again, how uncharacteristic it was of him to leave it so unkempt.

She repeated his name, her voice soft and it wavered some as she spoke. The small girl walked to the private bathroom that the male had attached to his room. "Sasuke?" she breathed his name, she felt like she was going to pass out from her fall as she took the doorknob and spun it, opening the wooded door and immediately she felt sick to her stomach.

There was so much red in the white room. The lights made it stand out a brilliant crimson against the ivory tub and floor. Sasuke's striped hoodie was thrown on the floor to his right, and he was slumped against the edge of the cream colored bathtub. One arms was under his head, the red liquid pooled under his chin and it was splashed across his face. His other arm hung over the inside of the tub, the scarlet ran across his skin and down over his fingertips. Gathering in a puddle on the bathtub floor. There were bloody handprints smeared across the porcelain sides, red spots spattered across the area rug on the floor.

A gasp ran through the girl's lips again that day. Her brows furrowing higher on her head, her nauseousness and headache grew faint when she saw the boy's breathing was shallow and blood still ran from the lacerations in his skin.

Sakura stepped into the room, ignoring all the iridescent ruby color. "Sasuke?" she whispered his name, she heard a soft rush of breath from her best friend's lips. She walked to him, and sat down beside him, again ignoring all of his blood. "Sasuke, please say something…"

The male groaned as she laced her arms around his waist, pulling him closer to her. It was the first time in her life that Sakura realized how fragile the boy in her arms was. He was broken and breaking, and she wasn't sure how to put him back together. She tightened her thin arms around his waist, holding him against her. She could feel the small vibrations from his faint heartbeat.

"Sasuke," she murmured his name, tears were starting to run from her eyes as they squeezed shut, blinding herself from all the redness in the bright bathroom. She choked a little as she attempted to take a shaking breath. "I promise, everything will be fine." She felt the male move in her arms, he was struggling to back away from her. Just like an injured animal.

"No." his voice was so thin, like a web through the air, she almost didn't hear him. She opened her eyes and looked at his face, letting him maneuver himself away from her steadier body. "It won't be Sakura."

"It will be," the young woman retorted softly. "I understand, Sasuke. I-Itatchi was your brother, no matter what he did. I understand, it must be so hard to have him gone." She reached out for him again, holding her arms out, inviting him to come closer to her once more. "Come here," she murmured to him.

The boy shook his head weakly.

The girl's eyebrows furrowed, "Please come here? I know it has to hurt, but you shouldn't do _this,_ you're still alive. That's what counts."

"You _know?_ You _understand?_" Sasuke scoffed. He was so weak but Sakura swore she saw red swimming behind his normal coal colored eyes. "You don't know fucking anything Sakura."

His innocent, naïve, beautiful Sakura.

Why did she have to be the one who knew?

Sasuke stood, he was upset and his blood loss was causing him to sway slightly on his feet. Sakura followed him and stood as well. Staring at him through her avocado eyes, she waited for him to speak, to move, to do something. This silence was as abnormal as his messy room.

"I killed him."

There was silence after his outburst. The small woman's soft mouth fell, dropping open, gaping at him. Sasuke knew she would ask. 'Who Sasuke?' she was too innocent, she wouldn't know. She wouldn't _get _it. So he told her.

"Itatchi." He yelled, stepping closer to her. "I killed Itatchi." he screamed.

Her green, green eyes widened. He could only imagine what she was thinking. Monster. _Monster. _Monster. But he already knew that's what he was. Because he thought he himself was a monster. So he would understand.

The male tightened his hands into fists, his blood leaking out faster now that he clenched his fists. Trickling down his skin, over his slender fingertips and falling down, down, down to the floor. Staining it the glistening crimson.

She would leave. Call him a monster, scream that he was a worthless piece of shit. She would yell that she hoped he would die. And then she would leave. Slip out from his blood smeared fingers and away from him.

But he understood.

Because he knew if he were Sakura at that instant, that's what he would do.

At that moment he felt her soft, slim, arms wrap around his waist, and he felt her nuzzle her head into his chest. Her silky hair brushed against his neck and he felt his heart jump in his chest. Something wet soaked through his shirt, it was warm and damp, and vaguely he wondered what it was.

"S-Sakura?" he murmured, surprise was evident in his voice.

"I didn't know." she breathed. "I didn't know that… I-I… I'm sorry."

The male inhaled, letting the air enter into his lungs slowly. He lifted his arms to hold her back, there was a moment that he wondered if she would be angry with him if he got his blood on her, but decided it didn't matter. He held her tightly against him, his neck bent so that his cheek was resting against the woman's. For some reason he felt so much better with her in his arms.

They stayed like that for a handful of minutes, each breathing easily, unsure of the new feelings that started to blossom in their chests. The male felt warm and he could smell her scent from their proximity. Even though he hated sweets, her sweet scent was wonderful and relaxing. She felt so thin and fragile in his arms, and he vaguely wondered if he felt as frail as she did. She was so warm too, the heat just seemed to absorb into his flesh, making him feel better.

She pulled slightly away from him then, only enough to be able to look up into his face. Sakura lifted one of her hands and ran it trough the male's midnight fringe.

"Sit down on the counter," Sakura murmured, gently untangling herself from his body, and turning away from him. She took a few steps over to the closest in the room and began to pull some supplies from within.

The boy listened to her, and while he was sitting he let his eye run over his lacerated arms. Taking in the dried blood and the still wet blood. He let his eyes jump to her back while she was turned away from him, and he saw the bright red splotches of his blood on her bright yellow shirt.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, feeling cold with her so far away from him. She turned and looked at him, pausing in her harvesting of odds and ends from the supply closet. Sakura looked at him questioningly, and he opened his mouth once more. "There's blood on your shirt now."

The light raspberry haired woman shrugged her shoulders. "Its just a shirt." She sifted again after speaking and continued to grab items.

"It's your favorite shirt though," he sighed, irritated with himself for messing up something else in the small woman's life, even if it was as simple as a yellow top.

Sakura came over to him them, arms full of supplies. She set them down gently and took one of his arms delicately into her hand. Dampening a towel with warm water, she wiped the blood from his arm softly. She took another dry towel, and poured hydrogen peroxide onto it, to cleanse the wound so it wouldn't get infected. Finally, she pulled out bandages from her assortment of items. They were laced over his arms gently, to absorb any new blood and to protect them from potential infections. After finishing one arm, Sakura did the same to his other.

"Thank you." he breathed out as the petite girl washed her hands and replaced what was left of the medical items. She nodded at him and then their eyes met, and awkward tension falling into the air around them. Sasuke let his eyes fall from her, feeling embarrassed at his show of emotion around her. Crying and cutting himself. He felt pathetic.

"Come on," her voice was even as she let her hand entwine with Sasuke's. "You have to change." she said to his questioning gaze. Nodding he hopped down from the counter top, and looked down at himself, seeing once again the blood spatter all over himself.

Sasuke moved to pull his shirt from his chest but Sakura stopped him. "You'll open your arms again," she looked at him shyly, a small blush painting her cheeks a soft pink as she let her fingers find the hem of his t-shirt. "I-is that okay?" she asked, suddenly wondering if she had gone too far. The boy nodded and she pulled the fabric up over his torso.

His toned chest and flat stomach were exposed to her. Her lime eyes glazed over his bare skin momentarily, her blush growing larger by the second. Sakura turned then, almost a bright red, and went to his closet to find a new shirt for him.

She noticed, before she turned away, that the skin on his stomach and chest hadn't been touched. It was perfect and unmarred by blades or anything else. Skin a creamy white color and unblemished, letting the sinewy muscles below move with grace and beauty. He was breathtaking and blush worthy.

Sakura shifted back to him, soft fabric in her slender hands. "Here," she murmured, letting the fabric slide over his arms and fall down his waist, covering his gorgeous skin.

The male murmured a thank you to her, and both sets of their eyes fell to his blood flecked skinny jeans. Sakura opened her mouth to speak but the boy beat her to it. "I can do that myself." She closed her mouth and nodded, the whole time her blush deepening. "Change your shirt while I change my jeans." he said to her, wondering if she would let him tell her what to do this time. She nodded once more and grabbed one of his shirts and slipped back into the bathroom.

Sasuke dug in his dresser drawers, finding another pair of dark wash skinnies, and after kicking his blood stained ones off, he pulled the new ones on. He heard the shower turn on for a few seconds as he tried to button the pants, but for some reason, his fingers refused to move correctly, and he couldn't do it.

Dark eyes narrowed as he glared at the simple button. It mocked him, laughing at him that he couldn't button it.

The water in the bathroom was shut off then and he heard Sakura's soft movements as he imagined she took her shirt off, and put his on. A part of his mind vaguely wondered how soft her skin was, it was the briefest thought, but a separate part of his mind took it and ran. Wondering how her breasts looked in a lacey bra, how soft they would be to lay his head on, and how they would feel if he took them in his hands and gently touched them.

The door opened at that moment and the male jumped, alarmed at the sudden noise. "You okay?" Sakura giggled lightly at him, seemingly not freaked out by his mood change.

"Uhh…" he remembered then that he may or may not be falling out of his own jeans because his damned fingers wouldn't do the button. He looked down, and consequently, Sakura's gaze shifted as well. "Can you help?" he asked quietly, "My fingers won't do it, I dunno why."

Her skin flushed into the bright pink color once again, in turn Sasuke felt the back of his neck grow warm. Sakura stepped closer to him and quickly reached down to his crotch and did the button.

"Thanks," he mumbled, embarrassed by her action.

"Yup," she nodded, looking away from him for the moment. On impulse the young man lifted his arms and drew her closer, and held her against his chest. She didn't shy away from him but wondered why he was holding her this time.

She felt so wonderful against him. He felt like he could hold her like that forever. She was so warm, delicate, beautiful, and irresistible. Her skin was soft and she smelled delicious, despite the fact that he hated sweets. She just felt so perfect against him.

Sakura just felt like home.

"Why?" Sasuke whispered, he didn't want her to go, he didn't want to go. He just wanted to stay with her in his arms for as long as he could.

The young woman's forehead wrinkled with confusion. "Why what?" she spoke softly as her bottle green eyes washed over his pale face.

"Why are you still here?" his heart was still racing in his chest. "Why didn't you leave or run? Anyone else would be scared of me."

The petite woman shook her head. "Why should I be scared of you? We've been together forever Sasuke, we're like family. I wouldn't just leave you like that."

"Brother and sister family?" he asked gently, his sooty eyes averting momentarily from her sweet face, slight pink warmed the back of his neck.

He saw her adorable smile from the corner of his eye, and he looked back to her, confused as to why she was smiling. She didn't speak for a moment and one of her coral eyebrows raised. "Really?" she asked skeptically.

"Really what?" the boy asked feeling lost for the moment as to what they were discussing.

"We're nothing like brother and sister, Sasuke," the girl began giggling then, looking up at him through her light, thick lashes. "Nothing at all. Do you think so?" she asked then, deciding she wanted to know what he thought about it.

"I…" he didn't like how she looked at him like that, like she had an inside joke with herself about him, about them. "No," he mumbled, letting his eyes drop from her. He began to feel awkward with her resting in his arms like she was.

She giggled once more, smiling up at him. "Like I said, nothing like brother and sister."

Sasuke opened his mouth, trying to think of what to say, or if he should say anything, but he only stood gaping at her, no sounds came out. After closing his mouth and his eyes once more, he swallowed and tried again. "Then… what sort of family are we?" he questioned her, his deep voice faint.

The small girl looked at him for a few seconds, and it almost killed him. His heart was racing, he felt sick to his stomach, and he wondered why.

"Maybe family is the wrong word then…" the small girl hummed to herself for a moment, thinking and contemplating on what she should tell him. He couldn't watch her, it was like just being with her at that moment was destroying him. The male felt like she took his heart and threw it on the ground. If she wasn't family, what family did he have?

"W-we're like…" he jumped some when he felt her thin hand against his skin, slightly under his jaw so that she could move his face.

And then they were kissing. Her soft lips were pressed against his. Hers were warm, tender, caring, damp, and lush. He could only feel her, and only register her against him as she kissed him. Everything about her seemed soft in that moment, delicate, and so sweet. Before he had been almost positive that her just being in his arms was perfect, but this, Sasuke decided, this was even better. His heart seemed to lighten, his broken, dying, aching heart, with just one kiss he felt better. Her lips breathed life into him. Then again, he realized, she always had.

She carefully extracted her mouth from his, biting a little on her lower lip, she glanced shyly up at him, as if she had just realized what she had done.

"I think we're like that," she mumbled, "I-it's like a family… well it could be I guess." She smiled timidly. Sasuke couldn't seem to find his voice, stunned in more than one way. His silence made the girl nervous, "I-I mean, if you want it to be."

He took a breath in and started to nod gently. "Yes," he murmured, "yes, I want it to be." he tightened his arms around her, ignoring the slight pain from his cuts. "I want you to be my family," he leaned into her, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck. "I only want you to be my family." her murmured into her skin, inhaling her scent deeply.

Her thin arms were wound around him, keeping her tight against his chest, as if they were glued together. "Then I will be," the simple words left her lips and fanned over the boy's neck. No one and nothing else could amount to what he had in this small pink haired girl. Nothing and no one else made him feel as calm as she did, no one was home to him like Sakura was home to him.

* * *

**Okay, soo tell me what you think please? :] thank you all for reading, I love you guys; leave a review and please please tell me what you think of it :] **

_**peace,**_

_**a. rose. love**_


	9. letters

**Ooooohhh yeeeeaaa! :D tehe, a day right after a story up, another ones going up ;) I thought about making you all wait, but, tahdah! Surprise :] love you all :D**

_**Rated T**_

**I don't own Naruto, I don't own anything rad :'(**

**la de da story la de da **

* * *

_**Letters.**_

_'Sakura,_

_This is getting so hard. The armies are about to meet, everyone is talking, everyone is worried, no matter what bull shit they say about how strong they are. I'm starting to get scared and the only thing I can think of to calm myself is you._

_My dear, I hope you are well. I miss you terribly, and I think of you everyday. You are what's keeping me going, Sakura. I can't come home until this is over, and its killing me. I hate being away from you, and not being able to hold you in my arms. When I get home that's all I want to do. I want to look at you, and hold you, because I miss you, my dear Sakura, more than you will ever know._

_-Sasuke.'_

The small woman's hands shook as she read over the letter one more time. Her light brows were knitted high on her forehead, her eyes flying through the letters once more. He missed her. The woman's heart jumped in her chest every time she read the words. He was scared. That scared her probably as much as it scared him. He didn't get scared. He was Sasuke, he was strong, he was the boy, he didn't get scared.

But here he was, more than a thousand miles away from her, and he was scared.

Her jade eyes squeezed shut, trying to block the tears that were now forming from escaping. Sakura sank to her knees, hugging the letter to her chest as she sat on the floor and cried. He was away from her and they didn't know when he could come back. Or if he ever could.

* * *

_'Sasuke,_

_I'm here with you, I wish I could hold you in my arms and protect you from all of this, you deserve to be home with me. I miss you too. Just don't worry, you'll be fine. You will all be fine. We will win by far, with less casualties and when you win, you will all get to come home. I have faith in all of you, I know that you are all strong, I know that you will all survive. When you all win you will be able to come home. You can come home to me, and we will be together, Sasuke, do not fear. I know you can do it, I know you will live. I am with you._

_-Sakura.'_

Sasuke's ink eyes ran over the short letter. His girl's handwriting was shaky and the letters seemed to squirm on the page, he knew she was scared and worried about him. But it seemed like she had decided it was her turn to be the boy, to tell him that everything would be okay, and to tell him not to worry. A small smile fell onto his lips, it wasn't large enough to be really considered a smile, but it wasn't small enough to just be a line either. His heart lifted some.

She was with him.

* * *

She was waiting at the window. Her grass eyes were glued to the mail box, waiting and waiting for him to come. He should be there any minute, walking down the road with his shoulder bag full of letters and boxes, he would come to relieve a pretty young woman that her love is still alive and breathing.

There he was! She could see his radiant blond hair and his normal gait as he walked down the lane to her home. She jumped up from her soft seat, running to the doorway and throwing it open. Her small hands lifted her heavy skirts as she ran down the small dirt path that lead to their tiny old mailbox that sat outside of the rickety picket fence that laced its way around their yard.

"Mr. Uzumaki!" she spoke his name as she gulped down air, trying to catch her breath from almost flying from her previous perch. "Do you have mail for me today?"

The male tipped his hat at the small woman. "Good day, Ms. Haruno," he took a few more steps and then stopped a comfortable distance away from her. One of his large tanned hands reached down into his navy news-bag, digging through other letters and packaged boxes. He handed her a few prettily bound letters and one that looked like it had gone through a little more than some of the others.

Her slender hands flipped through them all, taking out the crude envelope, her name scratched into the front with the rushed looking handwriting of her darling. She smiled in relief, if it was from him then he was fine, if it was his handwriting then everything would be fine. The blond smiled at her, almost feeling the woman's relief himself.

"I'm guessing its from him, ma'am?" he asked gently, he was nothing but a newspaper man going along his daily trail, it wasn't his place to ask her, but he felt it would be fine.

Sakura nodded furiously, "It is," she beamed up at the man in front of her. "Its from Sasuke," she let her fingers rip through the top edge and pulled out the small bit of paper.

"What does it say Ms.?"

_'Sakura,_

_We have met the other army, and we have started to fight, I'm sorry that this has to be so short, but I had to write you at least something._

_I know this is sudden, and I know that its not how it should be, I should be there to pursue you and court you, but I cannot. I wish to ask your hand, though, I want you to be mine, Sakura. If I make it home, please marry me._

_-Sasuke.'_

She read aloud the letter to the blond male in front of her, her small heart jumped in her petite chest, she swore it almost burst. Sakura's lime eyes were wide as she read over it another time more slowly, letting the words sink in.

Marry me.

Those two words swam through her head, teasing her, floating through her brain, making her feel dizzy and light headed.

Marry me. Marry me... marry me.

_Please_ marry me.

She looked up at Naruto with large grass eyes. "H-he... he asked..." the male nodded, knowing what the woman was talking about even though her voice couldn't quite spit it out.

"I heard," he smiled at her. "What will you say?" he asked. He didn't know this Sasuke very well, but from how this small pink haired woman waited for his letters and how quickly she wrote back, he knew that it was love.

"I-i..." her bottle green orbs fell back to the crude paper in her hands. "I'll say yes of coarse."

The blond could see the distant look in her eyes, the one that told him she was thinking of her Sasuke, and how she missed him, and he knew that she would never even think of saying no to him.

"This Uchiha is a lucky man."

The woman's thin pink eyebrows furrowed, "Why say that Mr. Uzumaki?"

He smiled at her, "You can just call me Naruto, miss. And because he is lucky to have someone to come home to, and he is lucky that that person is some one like you."

The girl blushed. "Th-thank you, Mr. U- Naruto." She smiled at him. He nodded and took a step away from her.

"Of coarse," he grinned. "But I must be going now, I have other mail that needs to get to people." he patted his bag.

"Yes, of coarse," the woman nodded, turning as he began to walk away. "W-will you stop back through to get my reply?" she asked gently.

Naruto pivoted and nodded, "I always do miss," he smiled once more and waved a small goodbye to her, continuing on his route.

She watched his back as he walked to the next house. Her heart was still beating fast. "Y-you can just call me Sakura!" she called out to him. She wasn't sure that he heard her until he lifted his hand once more in an acknowledging wave.

She sighed then, listening to the birds that were tweeting in the trees with twisted branches. She let her jade eyes look up at their nests. Her heart slowed some as she listened to their pretty songs. _"Birds don't have to deal with war..."_ she thought to herself. She stood there, contemplating life as a bird, wondering what color she would be and if her voice would be as beautiful as theirs were.

After a moment more she turned and scurried back into her home, gently closing the door and walking into her small kitchen.

Light shone in through the windows, illuminating the wooden floor and reflected off of the sink, the metallic reflection gleamed on the ceiling. Sakura pulled out one of the rickety chairs and sat down gently on it, laying Sasuke's note down to her left, as she pulled a pencil from a glass mason jar. She grabbed another piece of unused paper and began to contemplate what to write to her love.

Her thin hands found her skirts as she ran, lifting them so her small feet wouldn't trip on the long fabric. Her feet carried her over the dusty ground as she ran to the mail box for the second time that day. The blond headed male was walking by, his navy colored bag was remarkably thinner than when the young woman had seen it earlier.

"N-naruto," Sakura said, letting the fabric fall back down and swish to her feet and slightly into the dust on the ground. The male turned and looked at her, grinning slightly. "Here," she said, lifting her delicate hand to give him an envelope.

"There better be a yes in there," he joked with her, taking the letter and gently putting it into his bag. The girl nodded and squeaked out a small 'of coarse!' Naruto laughed, "Good, well you'll know when he replies," he said softly. "I'll come and see you first." He looked at her for another minute before giving her a small smile.

"Thank you." the coral haired girl smiled, letting her hands fall to her sides and then folding and entwining her fingers with the others.

"You're welcome," the blond nodded at her. "Do you need anything else, Sakura?" he asked her quietly, letting his blue eyes rest on her face as he stood for a few moments.

She shook her head. "O-oh, no. If you need to go then you can go ahead, I don't want to hold you up," she smiled gently. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "No," he smiled. "It's fine, I'll see you tomorrow." when Sakura nodded, he gave her a final smile and a small wave as he started his walk back to the office, to send the other letters out.

* * *

His fingers ripped open the paper quickly, trying not to mess up the envelope too much, but trying to be quick too. There was an eerie silence that shrouded the land where his section of army stood. The bullets that had been flying previously had stopped for the moment, a lull in the fast paced battle they had started.

He felt his heart pumping in his chest, already fast from the battle but it picked up farther as he opened the note, wondering what his girl would say.

Deep slate eyes ran over the words quickly, skimming through them to see her response. Her handwriting was shaky that time too, her letters squiggling ever so slightly. It wasn't as extreme as the previous letter, but more so than some previous.

_'-courting doesn't matter to me. I want you home with me. I want to be your wife, and I want you to only be mine. I love you, Sasuke, I want to be yours._

_-Sakura.'_

He felt his heart lift in his chest and a smile broke over his lips. Sasuke's eyes read over the words once more. They were the most wonderful words anyone had ever told him. That anyone had ever thought about him. This was the best feeling that he had ever felt.

She **loved** him.

She wanted to be _his_.

"What the hell are you smiling about?" Sasuke jumped, his ink orbs jumping over to his friend who sat beside him. His brown hair was ruffled and he had two red triangles under his eyes.

"I'm getting married, asshole." Sasuke spit out, taking his eyes off of the male beside him. His gun was laying across his lap as he refolded the piece of paper carefully, replacing it into the envelope.

A dog slunk up to the brown haired boy and whimpered. "Stop pmsing, Uchiha, I was just curious, we're in a frickin war, no one should be smiling." the dog whimpered once more. "hey Akamaru," he murmured to the dog, letting his fingers scratch behind the animal's soft white ears.

"Yes we are Kiba, good observation." he said, his hands lay limp over the metal that rested in his lap. Sasuke sighed. "But you're right, no one should be smiling."

They heard bullets after that.

* * *

The grass felt scratchy against her skin as she lay on the hard ground. The sun was shining, the clouds were puffy, the sky was a deep beautiful blue. The perfect day.

But she felt restless. Angsty.

She hadn't heard from him in days. Almost three weeks had passed since she sent her letter, and everyday since then she had been waiting for Naruto to come with good news. But also everyday since then, he would let his eyes drop from her beautiful face and shake his bright yellow head.

No news. No letters. Nothing from her fiance.

She had heard nothing and it was killing her, ripping her sweet delicate heart out and destroying it.

"Sakura?" she heard her name from Naruto's lips. She heard a few steps coming closer to her, and she turned her head, looking to the only entrance into her small yard. The male stood there, his blond hair shone brightly in the sun and his blue eyes seemed to sparkle. He walked into the small green yard, a petite woman was being towed along after him, her slender hand was interlaced with his larger, more masculine one.

She was a small woman, with long black hair, and sweet pale plum eyes. She looked knowing and noble, wise as well. Her face was adorable and just standing she was breathtaking. Sakura smiled up at her and the male who had her in his grasp.

"Hello Naruto," Sakura smiled.

"What are you doing out here?" the boy asked incredulously. "You couldn't have been waiting for mail, it's Sunday, for heaven's sake!"

Sakura shook her light rose hair, "I was hanging washings," she turned her head to the other side and raised a hand to point at the now drying clothes. "And I was taken by this lovely day and decided to lay down." she said simply and softly. "I know there is no mail today." she added after a moments thought.

Naruto nodded. "Yes, but isn't it inappropriate for you to just be laying on the ground in your dress?" he stepped closer to her and then crouched down, finally letting his butt rest on the ground as he folded his legs indian style. He towed the petite girl with him, and with in seconds she was seated with her heals delicately tucked beneath her.

Sakura nodded. "Yes," she sat up then, also folding her legs underneath of her, but she was sure she didn't look as dainty or as dignified as whoever this soft looking woman was. "But I don't really care." she spoke simply, running fingers through her medium length hair, untangling it slightly.

The boy nodded, and the young woman with him held out a hand. "M-my name is Hinata," she smiled at Sakura. "N-naruto has told me a lot about you."

Sakura smiled back. "Did he?" she turned to the male beside her.

Hinata nodded. "He tells me how you're always waiting for a letter from Mr. Uchiha," her milky violet eyes watched Sakura as she spoke. Sakura nodded, whispering a small 'I do.' Hinata smiled, her slender hand was still in Naruto's. "Good."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed, slightly confused by the woman's words. "I-I..." Sakura looked down at her hands, they were clenched together, her knuckles were white. There was always a part of her that wondered if she could die from worrying about him as much as she did. "We're planning on getting married."

The couple sitting before her noticed how the corners of her avocado eyes crinkled, thinking of the man who owned her heart.

Sakura felt a soft hand on the top of her head, she looked up and saw that Hinata's free hand was resting on her head. "It must be hard for you to have him away." she spoke faintly, her dulcet voice low and her plum eyes understanding.

The petal haired girl felt tears spring to her eyes almost immediately after the other woman spoke. Her slender eyebrows furrowed and her face contorted as she started to sob. "I'm just so worried," she whimpered. Sakura pulled her knees up to her chest as she began to cry. Fat tears rolled down her face, streaking it with tracks.

Hinata let go of Naruto's hand and gently wrapped her arms around the thin breaking girl. She made soft quieting noises to the girl. Naruto placed a hand on her back, out of his element with women breaking down in front of him.

"He'll come home safe." Hinata said gently.

"He didn't reply yet," she sobbed out. "It's been 3 weeks and I haven't heard a word from him. What if something happened?"

"Maybe he just can't reply yet, Sakura. I'm sure you're what is on his mind." Naruto said faintly, letting his hand rub small circles on her back. "I'm sure he's fine."

The girl continued to cry. This Hinata girl reminded Sakura of her mother. Like the person whose there for you no matter what, the one you can cry to without any judgment being placed on you. After what seemed like hours, Sakura calmed down, breathing deeply and wiping her cheeks with her palm to rid them of the tracks that still stained them. "Thank you," she murmured quietly. "I'm sorry."

Hinata shook her head and smiled brightly at her, "Don't be."

Sakura managed a small smile. She offered them tea and lunch, but they declined, saying they would be on their way home to eat a small lunch together.

"If you need anything else, promise to find me, or get Naruto to find me?" Hinata asked gently, taking the thin pink haired into her arms once more.

Sakura laughed lightly. "I promise. You too." the petite raven haired woman nodded and promised, smiling brightly once more. Naruto took the pink haired into his arms quickly before grinning at her and taking Hinata's hand into his own once more. They said goodbyes once more and then took their leave.

Her heart fell moments after they left, once again alone with out any defense to save her from her own thoughts.

She couldn't stop thinking about him. His soft raven hair, deep black inky eyes. He was so strong too, and quiet. But he was sweet, the sweetest person she knew. Just the way he had looked at her stole her heart, and took her breath away. Leaving her breathless and her heart racing in her chest.

What if something happened to him? What if her Sasuke was gone?

She couldn't live without him.

* * *

Another day passed. Another day with no word, no clues no nothing. It had officially been 3 weeks and a few hours. Not like she was counting.

Sakura felt like her heart was breaking, or melting, or just dying. She couldn't feel anything but missing him, and missing his letters. Because that was the closest thing to having him while he was away.

She heard the pattering of rain against her roof. The sun wasn't pouring through the windows that day. Her laundry from the previous day was folded on one of the rickety chairs in the kitchen. She was across from it, her jade eyes nitpicking through the entire stack. Thinking of the dresses she hated and the colors that made them so ugly. Anything to take her mind off of where he was.

Sakura stood from her chair then. Naruto would be coming soon. Rain or no rain she would be damned if today would be the day she missed a letter because of the weather. Her small hands wrapped around a shawl and she threw it over her shoulders and her head, opening the door and stepping out into the element.

It wasn't necessarily cold out, but the rain kept the temperature comfortable. Sakura walked slowly out towards the mailbox, wondering if the blond would be on time that day or if the weather would cause him to be late.

She stood for a few minutes waiting for him at the end of her yard, the rain was picking up, coming down in heavy buckets, the ground spit up dirt when the drops hit it. It was hard to see exactly who was coming closer to her, but it was a tall figure and she immediately assumed Naruto would be there soon. Her bottle green eyes were glued to the figure, through the rain she could vaguely see that Naruto was limping.

Her eyebrows knitted on her forehead and she opened the white picket gate and ran down the dirt road towards her friend. The liquid splashed up her legs, soaking them but she didn't care, if he needed help it didn't matter.

Sakura got closer to him, and when she did, she noticed his hair wasn't blond. It was black. Raven, pitch, slate, ink colored black. Darker than night itself.

Her feet refused to move then. Her eyes picking up other things as the man got closer to her.

He was leaning heavily on a crutch, his other arm wrapped up in a sling across his chest. That dark black hair of his was plastered against his pale skin, the contrast a bright difference. He didn't have a shoulder bag like Naruto did, but there was a large pack strapped to his back.

The man staggered closer to Sakura, his features coming into perspective.

Breath caught in her throat and tears leaped to her green green eyes and she ran forwards.

"_Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke."_

He saw her smile and it made everything worth it. He smiled in response, joy flooded to the fibers of his being, happy with her happiness, relieved that she was still there. Sakura's arms wrapped fiercely around his waist, holding onto him with strength, he felt her shake against him, the girl's thin frame shaking with sobs.

"Sakura," his voice was sweeter than she had remembered. Low and even, deep, masculine, gorgeous. The male thought nothing richer had ever run over his tongue than the girl's name right then. It felt right, and wonderful, the most beautiful name in the world, and he was privileged enough to be able to speak it. He was lucky enough to know she would be his. The wonderful, quirky adorable woman in front of him would be his, and only his.

She didn't care that she was drenched, that her hair was plastered to her skull and her dress was sticking to her skin. Everything was better now. He was home, he was back in her arms. He was _home._

The small girl nuzzled her head into his chest, breathing in his scent, holding him as tightly as she could. Sakura kept murmuring his name, a breathless whisper falling from her lips, repeating, repeating. Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, her one and only.

They stood, rain still pouring down on them, and held each other, holding on fiercely and protectively. After some minutes, they gently pulled apart, save for their hands. Their fingers interlaced perfectly, skin molding into the others comfortably.

The two entered into the house, Sakura immediately began to scurry through, grabbing towels and handing one to Sasuke, taking his heavy bag into her small hands and lugged it through into another room. She ran back through, throwing a kettle onto the stove and turning the burner on before running back and stopping in front of the male who was struggling to dry himself off.

She grinned at him and took the towel from his hands and gently began to dry him off. After she was done she looked at him for a moment, taking in his rumpled, still damp clothes and messed up hair. She smiled wider, and began giggling. Sasuke looked at her skeptically, relishing in the laugh that escaped her lips. He started laughing in response, his was deep and melodious while hers was higher and bell-like.

Their laughing died slowly, each still watching the other. "I can't believe you're home." she murmured. "It feels unreal..." the boy shook his head, taking a hobbled step closer to the coral haired woman in front of him.

"No," he watched her with pitch eyes, "it's not," he looked down at his leg and his arm. "They told me they didn't think I'd ever be able to walk correctly again, or if my arm would heal completely." his eyes seemed almost empty for the moment. "I'm here, I'm home."

The small girl felt tears come to her eyes once more. Relief, sadness, happiness it all flooded through her. "Is it selfish of me to be happy you can't go back there?" she asked, lacing her arms around his waist gently, holding him to her and holding him upright too.

His good arm wrapped around her shoulders, feeling her every breath and heartbeat. "No," he said softly. "I would have given up a lot more than an arm and a leg to have you." he said softly. "I have something for you," he murmured, carefully pushing himself away from her.

She looked up at him, a confused expression behind her jade eyes. "What? You're home, that's all I need Sasuke." the male shook his head, a smirk sitting on his lips.

"All you need?" he asked opening up a small box, a tiny gold ring sat inside. It was slightly tarnished and not very beautiful, like it had been beat up and gone through the war itself. "This was the ring that my father gave my mother, the one he got from his mother. And I want you to have it. I want you to be mine." he spoke gently and softly, watching her closely with his black eyes.

She stood for a moment, somewhat shocked that he had been completely serious about marrying her, it was sudden. But she wanted it, she wanted to be with him. Sakura's face lit up, a large smile sat on her cheeks, tears slipping out again. "I love you." she said as the boy took the old ring out and slid it over her slender middle finger.

"Perfect fit," he smiled leaning into her and kissing her lips.

* * *

**Inspired to write this from 'If this really means a lot to you' by a day to remember, I love that song :]**

**:3 what you think? Thank you for reading! :) please review, I'd _love_ to know what you think :]**

_**peace,**_

_**a. rose. love**_


	10. stories

**Another story today, :] I'm excited about it, tell me what you think please :] thank you to all the reviewers, I love you guys :3 these stories are for all of you **

**no, sadly, I don't own Naruto, I cry about it ever night :'(**

**Story time now, no crying :]**

_Stories._

Bright pink hair was tied up in a lose bun at the back of her head, chewing delicately on her bottom lip Sakura's bottle green eyes ran over the few words written on the page. Her slender fingers were wrapped around an aqua mechanical pencil, it scratched some as she wrote. Her letters seemed to almost swirl together, curling into one another, the script almost as beautiful as the actual scene she was writing.

Her light eyebrows knitted, trying to imagine what would happen next, what her characters would say, how the boy in her story would move, what he would say to his love interest, and how she would respond. Sakura sighed, she hated being stuck. Writing was wonderful, it just flowed from her finger tips, onto the paper or into the screen, and then it would come together. The plot line, the story, the characters, the theme, and all of the scenes. Twisting and twirling, almost flying together, like a rainbow of color against a white sheet of paper. Creating something beautiful and sometimes shocking; she _loved _writing. It was _her._

But when words stuck, she felt stuck. Like something wasn't quite right, and it irritated her. Writing was her, so when she couldn't write, something was different. Something was odd.

Her sea glass green eyes ran over the words once more. Maybe it was just one of the adjectives that didn't fit. It was like a puzzle she had to try to work together. Her teeth ground together for a moment as she read. Thinking and thinking, wondering what to add or what to subtract.

Sakura let her aqua pencil lay on the desk she sat at, lifting the red notebook so she could flip the page back, rereading what she had written a day or so before.

She was in the middle of scanning the words and reminding herself where she wanted to take the story when the object was taken from her hands. A small squeak popped from her chest, surprised at the sudden loss of her precious notebook. Her green eyes jumped up to the male in front of her.

He was tall, and gorgeous. Deep navy blue skinny jeans hung from his waist, held by a studded belt, and his shirt was horizontally striped, grey and dark purple. His black hair hung in his deep ink eyes and stuck up in the back, it was shiny, but in the healthy, soft, touchable way. Sakura swallowed, her jade eyes wide. Sasuke Uchiha.

"Sa-ku-ra," he said her name in a soft sing-song voice, one eyebrow cocking up onto his forehead. "What're you up to, hun?" the simple word made her heart jump. He was always doing that, calling her pet names, looking at her sweetly, as if they were lovers or something equivalent. But of coarse they weren't.

The girl's eyebrows knitted downwards. "Nothing," she murmured, reaching a petite hand up to grab for her notebook. "Can I have my notebook back please? I was writing."

He lifted it barely out of her reach. "Then you weren't doing 'nothing.'" the male said, smirking at her knowingly. "What are you writing?" he asked, pulling up a chair and flipping it around, sitting on it backwards.

"Nothing," the girl hissed, her heart racing in her chest, her hand fell back down to her side. She let her eyes fall from him, resting them on her desk.

"Nothing?" the boy asked softly. Then she heard him flip it open, the soft, small, swish of the paper as Sasuke turned to the page Sakura had just been writing in.

_'No!' _her mind yelled. Her jaw dropped. "I-I want it back, Sasuke give me my notebook back." she reached for it once more.

"Nuh-uh, babe," the male said, again leaning just out of her reach so she couldn't take it. He smirked at her once more, before letting his eyes turn from her and to the page. He quieted for a moment as he read. Taking in and absorbing the words she had written in her beautiful, sweet script.

Sakura's heart was still racing, a throbbing, pumping, almost painful race in her chest. She sighed, "Sasuke..." the boy ignored her, his ink eyes still running over the page. Oh how she loved those eyes. They reminded her of the gorgeous black of ink in her precious books and of the stories she loved so much. It was like every time she looked at his black eyes, she was looking into her own story.

After a few moments, he looked at her, his eyebrow cocked once more. "W-well?" the girl asked quietly, self conscious for what he had just read.

"'He softly took her sweet face into his larger hand, using her jaw to tilt her head to meet his, letting his lips meet her lush ones gently. Her skin was soft and intoxicating to him, making him miss her and want her even more. He let his fingers run over her flesh, causing low, soft moans to escape her delicate lips.'?" The boy looked at her. "You really think that's how it goes?" he had one of those knowing smirks on his face. The one that seemed to mock her, laugh at her for what she had written.

Her soft jaw fell open, slightly gaping at him. "I-i..." she shook her head slightly. "I don't..."

"Cause that's not how it goes at all." The boy grinned at her mischievously. "Boys aren't that soft..." Sasuke stood then, setting the notebook down on the desk and stalking behind the object to the young woman. "Boys are a lot rougher." his smile turned wicked. "It's not soft, or gentle, or sweet. Darlin' we're hard, and fierce. Boys hurt girls."

"Sasuke," the girl squeaked, her eyebrows furrowing downwards in anger. "Stop it. Like you know what it's like."

"You want to find out?" he leaned in closer, his minty breath fanned over her ear, wisps of her hair also tickled her skin. "I'll show you, hun, promise to -"

The teenager stood then, glaring into the boy's gorgeous inky eyes. "You don't have to be a dick about it Sasuke." her small hands picked up her notebook and her aqua pencil. "Screw you." she hissed, pushing away from him and stalking away.

"Sakura," the boy called after her. She ignored him and continued to walk. "I was just kidding." he said. His eyes fell to her small ass for a moment before he shook his head, trying to focus on her. He picked up his own backpack then, hanging it over his shoulder.

"Sakura, come on." he caught up to her easily with his long, easy stride. "I was honestly just kidding, okay?" The girl shook her head, short pink hair twirling gently around her shoulders. The boy's black brows furrowed. "Look at me please, hun."

"No, Sasuke, I don't want to look at you. I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to see you." he saw the tears in her jade eyes and falling over her cheeks. "You were being a dick. I don't care if it's 'just a story' you don't understand. Just leave me alone." Her light brows were knitted tightly. They both stood quietly for seconds.

"Sak-"

"Just leave me alone." she turned then and left him standing there, the other university students were milling around. Some eyed the two teenagers as they passed. Sasuke looked down then, letting his eyes drag on the dirty pavement, shoving his hands into his pockets he turned and walked away.

She sat in her room later on that day. Her classes were over, her homework and reports were all finished. Her verdant eyes rested on the open tablet in front of her. It was already open to the dreaded page.

_'Lord **why** did I have to be working on a sex scene?'_ Sakura thought, her slender fingers entwined themselves in her short, wavy rose hair. _'It could have been **anything** else, now he's going to think I'm horny all the time.'_ Sakura let out a soft growl as she fell back onto her comforter.

She couldn't even write. She couldn't stop thinking of him either. His gorgeous ink eyes, soft raven hair... just everything about him. He was perfect. He was cute, and obnoxiously adorable. That wicked smirk of his and the sweet names, it drove her crazy. She even liked how he **breathed. **The power behind it, the _intensity _of it. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. But of coarse, she'd never tell him that, she would just sound creepy.

They were _friends._ Close, pet-named... friends.

And, the girl supposed, they would always only be friends.

She heard soft knocking against her bedroom door. Just a small rap against the surface. Growling quietly again, slightly irritated to be interrupted in her brooding. She stepped closer to the door with every intention of flipping off whoever was standing behind it and to tell them to go to hell. She opened the door and the words fell dead on her tongue.

A dozen of roses were held in front of her face. Bright reds, luscious oranges, soft pinks, and light, soft yellows. All had verdant green leaves and stems.

Sakura gasped, looking up at the carrier of the gorgeous bouquet.

Her green eyes met black ones. Ink, charcoal, midnight, pitch, onyx, obsidian. The deepest black color. They were breathtaking. The beautiful sooty, ink eyes. The ones that just begged her and dared her to make the male they belonged to become hers. And a part of her story.

"S-sasuke?"

He smirked at her then. "Here." he held the flowers out to her. After she took them into her own arms Sasuke put his hands into his pockets. He bit on his lip for a second, "I, um... wanted to apologize for today." He swallowed then too, nibbling on his lip once more. The young woman was surprised. He swallowed and bit his lip like he was nervous. She scrutinized him with her jade eyes. "I was acting like a dick, so I'm sorry hun." he lowed his head and glanced up at her through his thick black lashes for mere moments before they fell to the floor. Sakura could see the slight traces of pink that laced up his neck.

"It's okay, I guess." the boy sighed, relieved that she accepted his apology. But then the girl opened her mouth again. "How many girls do you call 'hun'?"

It was impulsive, and potentially a very regrettable question. But it left her lips before she could edit herself.

There was a stunned silence then. The male's eyes widened at the small question.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Am... um, am I the only one you call hun?" she asked again, letting her eyes fall to the flowers in her arms.

"Of coarse." the boy said, looking down at her, eyebrows furrowed. "Why would I call anyone else that?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know, I just wondered is all." she felt her cheeks grow warmer.

"But why?" his eyes had a curious gleam behind them. The girl shook her head. "Come on love." he smirked. "You jealous?"

Sakura shook her head again, pink locks swirling around her head. "N-no, I was just... I just wondered. Never mind."

"No, no," Sasuke stepped closer to the girl, in response Sakura stepped back away from him. The male gently closed the door. "Sa-ku-ra..." he spoke her name in a sing-song voice. His face adopted the wicked smirk once more. "Come one, tell me..." that animalistic look entered into his eye. The one that looked at her like prey instead of his best friend.

"Sasuke!" she squeaked as he pounced on her, some how gently taking the flowers from her grip and setting them on the desk against the wall. He was on top of her then, pinning her against the bed. "Sasuke, get off," giggles escaped her lips as his fingers tickled into her skin. Tears came to her eyes as he continued to tickle her.

"You gonna tell me?" he asked. If the girl hadn't been laughing so hard she would have seen the smile that sat on his lips.

"Please stop," she was crying then, her face and cheeks aching from the smiles.

"Tell me first, darling, and then I'll stop."

"Fine, fine." the male stopped his barrage against her soft skin. The girl breathed for a moment, watching him as she caught her breath. He was still over top of her, his eyes observing her as she inhaled and exhaled. He was leaning over her stomach, one arm under his head and the other resting easily on Sakura's tummy. "Yes," she said finally and softly. "I wondered because I was jealous."

The boy seemed to hum when she replied, shutting his pretty ink eyes. "You're silly, darling."

"Why do you call me those names though," Sakura let her hand go up to Sasuke's hair, her fingers brushing through his raven locks. They were soft, and something about his hair made her want to touch it more.

"Why do you think?" he asked, his own fingers ran delicately over her slender stomach, tracing small patterns into the fabric of her shirt. His onyx eyes remained closed as the girl petted his hair.

"I don't know."

Sasuke's orbs opened then, taking in the pretty girl who was laying under him. "I like how warm you are," the male said, his low voice soft. "you're making me sleepy." his eyes closed once again then, basking in the young woman's warmth.

"You have to answer." Sakura said quietly, continuing to run her fingers through his hair.

"But do I?"

"You made me answer."

The teenager smiled then, "I guess I did, eh?" he stretched some then, lifting his arms above his head, his toes pointing downwards. "I like you, Sak," he curled back up again, his hand resting once again on her stomach. "Like, like like you." he hummed once more before his mouth opened wide as he yawned.

"O-oh." Sakura breathed then, her heart racing unevenly in her chest. "I-i see..." the boy nodded, yawning once more. "Do you really like like me?"

"Yes, Sakura, very much so..." his voice was starting to sound cloudy and far away. "I wouldn't be... falling asleep on you... if I didn't." Sakura smiled then.

"I-i like you too." the boy smiled also then, his black eyes opening as he smiled at her. It was a beautiful smile, his teeth gleamed white and his eyes softened. It cast his face in an entirely different light. If he hadn't just admitted to liking her, her heart would have broken if she saw his smile. It was breathtaking and beautiful and... just perfect. _He _was perfect.

"Then would you be mine?"

Sakura felt like she was going to die. Be **his.** That was the only thing besides her writing that she knew. The only thing she would _give up_ her writing for. She could only nod, smile like an idiot, and nod some more. Her green eyes were bright with happiness.

He leaned in closer to her then, his soft lips meeting the girl's cheek for a moment. A heart stopping, wonderful moment. He smiled then, nestling himself back onto her comforter, his arms then wrapped around her waist.

"What do we do now?" the rose haired girl asked quietly.

"Sleep," he murmured against her skin. His face was in the crook of the girl's neck, he could smell her cherry hair and feel her soft flesh. He yawned once more. "Sleep now, hun, please." the young woman smiled.

"Of coarse... love."

**:3 okay so there we go, :D another story, update and another one-shot, this one excited me. I like it but I don't like it, so idk, tell me what you all think though :} id _love_ to hear :] you can do it by pressing that pretty button down there :]**

**thanks for reading!**

_**peace,**_

_**a. rose. love**_


	11. the ransom riot

**Okay so yea, it's short, but it's more of just a thought process, kind of I dunno how to explain it. I hope you all enjoy, it's written a little differently than my normal, so tell me what you think :]**

**I don't own Naruto, or really... anything spectacular or fantastic :/**

_**'i'll scream this to you in a beautiful song, a story like the bard's used to tell, with different language and more emotions, a beautiful disaster. Something with love. '-a. rose. love**_

_the ransom riot._

There's always that one person you'd do anything for right? The one person, that no matter what happens, you'll be there for them, you'd take a bullet for them. You'd _Kill_ for them.

That's who she was. She was that person to him. His exact opposite. Pink to black, jade green to onyx black. Petite and delicate to tall and tough. Opposites. But so similar as well.

They loved the same musics, thought the same, talked the same. They wore similar clothing, had piercings and tattoos. They believed the same. Loved the same.

He hated talking, so she would take over. He hated people, and she almost thrived under them. She fed from them and they fed from her, keeping conversations and smiles easy. Her voice was precious to him, he'd sit quiet for hours, no matter the time of day, and listen. Listen to her sweet voice. No matter what she was talking about, he loved to listen to her.

Ironic because he was the lead singer in a band, and all around the world women died to hear his voice, but he would die to hear hers.

She could have been famous herself, her voice was sweeter than honey, more beautiful than spring flowers in the sun, it was wondrous. He asked her to come with them, be a part of the band, so that they could sing together, but she just smiled at him and slowly shook her head, pink hair swishing gently around her shoulders. Sakura told him that he was the one meant for stardom, and that she was meant to remind him of home, of where he would always belong. He nodded in understanding and then confessed his love for her again after that.

Here she was, laying asleep in his arms. Moments like these were few since they began touring. He would visit when he could. Block out a whole week of his life and dedicate it to her. He Watched her, held her, kissed her, told her how much he cared about her. He would simply drown himself in her. He hated being away from her. She had to stay home while he traveled the world; she had to go to college while he sang for mismatched kids and the unwelcome, misfit teenagers everywhere. He was their leader, and they needed him. They loved him, wanted him, and needed him. He couldn't deny them that.

But he needed her, and he hoped they wouldn't deny him that.

She was what he needed, what gave him life, and what kept him grounded. She wasn't afraid to be the one who gave him that slight 'kick' to the balls when his ego got a little too big. She would tell him that the world didn't need him. And that she, especially, didn't need him. But when his head was once again normal sized, Sakura would simply smile and kiss him. Telling him that she could never _truly_ live without him.

Sasuke believed her too. Because that's what she was to him. The one who had been there through everything, the one who knew him before his face was all over the internet and MTV. Sakura had been there since the beginning, since the band had been nothing but a few shared dreams and simple notes strummed out on an old acoustic guitar.

Sakura was always there. She was the one who had talked him down from the bridge when he was fifteen, talked him down from the dangerous ledge into her safe arms and back home.

That was the night Sasuke asked her to be his. Said he wasn't asking her to live for him, or to be his reason to keep living. He told her he didn't want to be a burden to her.

But, he said, he wanted to be the one to hold her when _she_ finally cried. He said _he_ wanted to be the one she ran to for anything and everything. He wanted to be the boy she needed, and especially the one she loved.

Of coarse she said yes.

They were together after that. Always together. In each others company, in each others arms. They shared thoughts and feelings. Sakura saying hers, Sasuke sang his to her. His music was for her. Love songs written about her, for her. It was the only way he knew how to tell her. So he would sing, even when his voice was changing, from its slightly higher pitch to the beautiful, baritone it settled into. He sang his heart to her and she never laughed. Never joked or made fun. But she smiled. Eyes glistening with happiness, grinning from ear to ear, her heart beat irregular from in her chest.

And when he was done, the final notes dying in his handsome throat, she wrapped her arms around his throat, not even waiting for him to move the guitar from his lap. She would lace her arms around his neck, small crystal tears running over her cheeks, precious gems to the boy. And while she cried into his smooth, warm neck, she told him over and over how she felt the exact same way.

How she loved him and needed him too.

Sasuke looked down at the small girl in his arms as he gently ran his fingers over her flesh. He was always surprised at how soft her skin was. Beautiful, creamy, soft and smooth, wonderful and glorious. He wished he could run his fingers over her sweet skin everyday. Hear her voice everyday. See her smile and her jade eyes everywhere he looked.

He mumbled her name in his deep, relaxing voice. A beautiful noise from his throat. The girl's eyes fluttered and she finally opened them, looking up into his face. Into his dark black orbs. She smiled gently, knowing it was time.

"I'm sorry," he murmured to her, tightening his muscular arms around her slender waist, pulling her closer. "I have to go now."

She shook her head and smiled. "Don't be sorry, you can't let them give up, it's bigger than you and me." her smile broke his heart. He hated leaving her, he hated leaving her alone here without him. Where people didn't understand, where all the people judged. She wasn't safe without him there.

"But I just want you." he whispered into her skin.

She kissed him then, letting her lips linger on his for a time, showing him how much she cared. "And I you." she smiled then, her jade eyes were sad, but optimistic. Another difference between them. "I'll be here, Sasuke. You know I'll be here anytime you need me."

The male sighed into her once more, his arms wrapped protectively around her waist. He'd give up his entire career for her. All of his music, all of his fame, all of his fans. He'd give up everything for her. He would gladly _die_ for her. He was lucky she didn't ask him to.

He retracted his arms then, slowly letting her out of his grasp. She was nestled comfortably in her bed, covers wrapped around her legs and a part of her stomach. He wondered if she would wake up in the morning and wonder if it had been a dream, if being with him was a dream. He brushed her pink hair from her eyes before placing a simple kiss on her forehead.

"I love you." he said the words quietly, they hung in the air as the girl looked at him, a soft smile on her sweet face and slight cloudiness in her jade orbs.

"I love you too."

Onyx eyes rested on the petite woman for another second before he turned, ripping his eyes from her beloved form. "Goodbye my sweet." he spoke the final words before grabbing his Converse and slipping them on, along with a jacket, before opening the bedroom door to exit the small apartment.

The cold bit into him as he took his cigarette packet from his front pocket, retrieving one and slipping it in between his lips. He inhaled the smoke as he walked, letting his feet carry him slowly to the venue where his band was playing. It was close by, a simple short walk.

He thought about her, beginning to also think about his music. He wanted to write. He was feeling melancholy but loved too. She was his inspiration. His _'muse'_, his love. Sasuke wished he could have stayed with her, because she was the reason for his music. She would sit with him for hours, oh so quietly. Curled against his side or cuddled in his warm lap. She would sit with him as he wrote. She was the drug that got him going, and she had him going now. He was half tempted to call off the concert and go back to her.

But he just got there and his band mates greeted him. They knew he missed her but they weren't going to cancel just because he missed his girl. They understood him, and they knew it was time to play, that that would take the aching in his heart away. They were misfits too. Skinny jean wearers with black eyeliner smudged over their eye lids, painting their faces in an entire different way. Straightened hair and large eyes, almost a pleading look, almost a sad look. They smiled at him, lip rings and tongue rings decorated their flesh. He smiled back. Knowing he looked the exact same way.

They all knew they didn't belong anywhere else.

The male took another drag, letting the smoke lace through his lungs. "You guys ready?" he asked, dropping the cigarette onto the ground and smudging its life out with his foot. The others nodded, throwing in a 'fuck yea' here and there. After a final look they grabbed their instruments and headed towards the stage, to play their hearts out once more.

The show was over two hours later, and Sasuke walked off the stage, sweat sticking to his forehead and his skin. It would have made him feel gross if it hadn't been such an awesome show. The kids had been good, loving the energy the bands put out, kicking it back at them ten fold. Two other bands had played too, their sets received just as kindly as _**The Ransom Riot**_'s had.

There was a party after that, to celebrate the short return to their hometown. Sasuke looked down at his phone, the numbers illuminated read 1:43 am. He sighed, Sakura would be asleep. He thought of the pretty girl before pushing her from his mind.

They all partied for a while. Drinking some and hanging out. After a few drinks songs were sang a little less than professionally. Sasuke kept his head about him though. There were girls there, and a few tried to get with him, but he shook his head, apologizing to them and giving them a small smile. "I'm sorry but I love my girl." those were his words to every single one. And every single one frowned slightly and walked away, but they saw a part of his heart when he said those words, and they knew he was as good of a person as they all thought he was.

It was over by around 4, they all packed up and got into the van, heading off to the next destination, to the next show. They were all tired, feeling drained but fulfilled from what they all had accomplished in the two hour concert they put on.

The black haired male picked up his phone once more, opening it and calling his girl. She answered, sleep lacing through her voice. "Go back to sleep, love," Sasuke said, as he removed his shirt, climbing up into his bunk bed. "I just wanted you to know that we're back on the bus and heading towards Kiri's city, it went well and I'm safe."

"Good," he could almost hear the relief in her soft, sluggish voice. "I'm glad it went well darling," Sakura said gently. "Are you getting ready to sleep now?" she asked quietly.

The male 'mhm'ed her, feeling himself become more tired and sluggish himself. "Do you want me to go?" he asked her gently. The girl 'no'ed him, saying how she liked listening to his breathing. The boy chuckled then, closing his deep onyx eyes. "Then I'll stay on with you, I love you." he murmured gently to her.

"I love you too." It was the last thing she said. Sakura's breathing became even quickly, and when Sasuke knew she was asleep, he hung up, texting her after so she knew he was about to sleep too.

He laid there then, tucking his long arms behind his head, looking up at the ceiling a handful of inches above him. He used to get sick sleeping in the van while it was moving, but he got used to it, it hardly bothered him anymore.

Her voice was enough to keep him going, he decided. He wouldn't be able to go on without her, and her voice kept him going. Her soft even breathing, he could almost imagine he was with her, falling into a deep comfortable sleep with her. He could survive one more day apart from her.

**This is done, okay so that's it; this is gonna sound creepy, but my friend showed me the band black veil brides and andy sixx is the lead singer (he's gorgeous) and he was (idk is he still?) dating a girl named scout so I thought about what it'd be like to be in a relationship with a famous person, so this is what happened and that's where I got this inspiration from :)**

**'the ransom riot' is the name of Sasuke's band and Kiri is 'Kirigakure' or the water village, like just a city in this one, just btw ;)**

**lemme know what you all think please! I'd really love to know **

_**peace**_

_**a. rose. love**_


	12. glass bottles & a saltwater room

**La la la, I dunno what to put here so happy reading :}**

**I don't own Naruto**

**Messages in bottles are like stories :)**

* * *

_glass bottles & a saltwater room_

The man's black eyes traveled over towards the open window. He could hear the lapping of the water against the sand. There were no traffic sounds, no obnoxious yelling or sirens. This place was the best at night, well, in the early morning hours.

His eyes moved to the clock by his bed, the hands pointed two different directions, large hand towards the four and the little one towards the nine. Four forty-five am. It amazed him sometimes the ridiculous hours he just woke up. For no reason other than he just did. So with a small thought of irritation he got up, that prickling in his legs was there tonight. He stood and stepped over to the large glass, letting his onyx orbs look out.

It was still quite dark, the sun hadn't yet kissed the sand and the beach down below. His dull black eyes ran over the coast once more. It really was a beautiful sight. The lights of the stars reflected serenely off of the water and against the sand grains on the beach.

He lifted a hand and pulled at his bangs for a second, running his fingers through his raven hair. He wondered if he should even try to sleep or if he should just stay awake. He stood there for a moment, the salty air wafting through the window over his skin. It wasn't terribly cold but a little cool, causing small goosebumps to come along his flesh. After another moment of standing there he moved back to his bed, laying down on it once more. The male willed himself to sleep, weighing the options with himself, telling himself how stupid it would be to lay there awake when he had a meeting the next day. But his mind wouldn't let him. It kept racing, no matter how he laid or closed his black eyes. It just woke him back up.

After what seemed only a few more minutes of fighting with himself to go to sleep, he finally stood once more, the clock then reading five fifteen. Taking the office chair from his desk he rolled it over to the window, and he sat on it, leaning his back against the rougher fabric of the object, his ink eyes finally running back to the view, watching the tiny crashing waves, how the smallest of rays started to come out. Less than ten minutes passed before she came out onto the sand. Her feet were bare like always, and the boy could only imagine how the sand would feel against his toes at that time of the morning.

It was the same girl down there everyday. He never saw her during the day,though he tried to find her before, to tell her that he thought she was beautiful, and to ask what she was always looking at, but he could never find her. She was always gone by morning. He didn't purposely look for her every morning, it just seemed to happen whenever he woke up. If he woke earlier or later, she always seemed to be there, as if he was connected to her, and something in the air, something about the ocean told him it was time. That somehow he needed to be there for her. The male didn't understand it, but it was what it was. Sometimes he wondered if she were even real.

She had on shorts, coming only about mid-thigh, her pink hair was short and it seemed to dance around her head as the wind blew along the sands. Her shirt moved with the winds too, a billowy white shirt. It hung from her thin shoulders and made her look skeletal. He couldn't always see her well, from his height of seven stories high in an apartment complex it was hard sometimes, but he could usually see fairly well. The city was sleeping as this girl kicked sand up into the air, watching it with an unknown color of eyes. He wondered if they were like the sea, sea foam green, or ocean blue, they would have to be something like the ocean, because she always seemed to embody it, no matter when he saw her.

The way her clothes and hair moved, freely and without constraint. How she walked fluidly and gracefully. He had seen her angry before too, almost as much as he saw her just standing there, staring up at the heavens. She would walk with purpose, sometimes she would kick the sand harshly, as if the ocean had taken something away from her. He could see her screaming, her mouth gaping, but he never heard anything she yelled. She just captured his attention, captured his idea of what the sea was, any time he saw her, she was the only thing he thought about. Who she was, why she interested him so. He wondered if he would ever know.

The sun's miniscule rays started to cast everything in pale morning light, the sand was more white than yellow at this time of day. The light washed everything out, giving the ocean an ashy blue complexion. Her pink hair always looked even paler in this light, as if it had been bleached. Her skin was pallid and pasty, but beautifully so, not like death or sickly, just a pretty ivory color.

She was sitting on the docks now, her thin legs pulled up to her chest. Her face was away from him as she watched the stratosphere. He wondered what she was looking at. Whether it was to see the sun come up to kiss the skies or to watch the puffy clouds paint themselves with the early morning twilight pinks and purples. Small stars were still peeking out, dotting the horizon and the rest of the skyline as well. The small ones dimmed and extinguished; the stronger ones were there but just barely so. Their light starting to be overwhelmed by the streaks of sunlight that started to pierce through the darkness.

It was an awe-inspiring sight. The way the shadows draped themselves around the buildings and that petite girl, the water-colored clouds in the sky. The way the sunlight glittered off of the water. Simple and breathtaking.

After the sun came up and washed the beach in morning light, the girl took her leave. Head still tilted up, eyes still searching the clouds, she walked away, to somewhere the male didn't know. It made him sad to see her go.

He stood and went to his bed then, laying down once more, hoping to get a half hour of sleep before he had to wake back up again at seven.

* * *

The raven haired male heard seagulls as he walked home from his meeting the next day. His tie hung loosened from around his neck, the jacket he had been wearing was draped over his arm. Tiredness tugged at him. His receptionist had commented on the black bags that hung under his eyes. A pretty blonde creature with water blue eyes, she always took notice of him, giving him advice on ways to help him sleep better and things to eat to keep him healthy. He always smiled and thanked her in his deep voice, but inside he didn't really care. It shouldn't have been, but it was worth it.

His tense muscles relaxed some as he walked along the pavement that was in front of the beach. He paused, stopping in his tracks to look out at the water. There weren't many people resting on the sand at this time of evening. The sun hadn't yet set, but its light was casting everything in an orange glow.

He wished he could bottle the feeling. Take the ocean, sand, and sun and just bottle it. Stuff it inside a glass container and set it on a shelf at his home. That way he could go anywhere in the world. Move north away from all of the people and the bustling city, because he would have it with him. Have the wonder and the beauty, no matter where he was.

After deeply inhaling the scent, he turned, walking away from the shore, back towards the cars and fake sunlight the city had to offer. He made his way to the small market, buying a few things before heading back towards his apartment to cook and crash.

The man placed his items on his small counter. Sighing he took the food items and started to prepare. Cleaning off the vegetables as he heated a pan on the stove. Chucking chopped up pieces of chicken into the pan and standing over it as they cooked, adding the vegetables a little bit after, so they wouldn't burn as the chicken cooked.

He sat down at his desk then, a steaming plate in his hands and a glass of Coke with it. His black eyes stared blankly into the screen of his laptop, wondering what to do with the presentation he was assigned for the next week. The page in front of him was as blank as his mind, there weren't even ideas of inspiration floating around. Just of fatigue and how he knew he probably wouldn't sleep that night either. He chewed quietly, black eyes bouncing up to the glass bottle full of pieces of sea glass. He had a collection of them. Glass bottles on shelves, sea glass and sea shells placed randomly throughout the small space.

His male friends made fun of him for it, specifically a loud mouthed blond. They were always telling him it was really gay of him to have trinkets that reminded him of the ocean. It was a girl thing. They always said, but he just punched them and reminded them that he hadn't been the one to accidentally kiss his girlfriend's male cousin. The blond shut up after that.

The raven haired man wasn't sure where he got his love for the ocean. His family had raised him in the mountains far north of where he was. He had liked it there, the mountains were beautiful, the trees and the hills, all of it was amazing, but nothing like the sea. It just called to him, something about it ever since the trip they took when he was eleven. He fell in love with the ocean that day. So once he turned twenty one with a degree from college, he moved away. His mother cried that day a year ago, his father patted him on the back, and his brother smirked at him, telling him it was only to see half naked women everyday.

The male rolled his eyes at the idea, how absurd it was. Women were nice to look at, but not like the sea. And especially not like the girl that visited the ocean while he slept. Whether she was real or not, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He walked into his bathroom a little later. He threw his shirt on the floor as he leaned over the sink, squirting toothpaste onto his toothbrush and popping it into his mouth and brushing. He looked in the mirror then, taking in his appearance for the first real time in a long time.

He did have black bags under his soot colored eyes. He looked different than he used to. Not like he had changed himself, or screwed with the basic structure of his face, nothing like that. But he looked worn down, the normal spark in everyone's eyes weren't in his. They were dull, as if someone took the shine off of metal. Dull and dark. It was how he felt too.

* * *

He woke up again that night, his heart palpitated rapidly in his chest. Darkness was all around him, blanketing the room and the outside world. He found the clock and it was three twenty-seven. Sighing he rolled onto his side, hoping sleep would be able to find him quickly, but of course it didn't. He wondered if the sand man was out of sand, ironic because they were near a beach. Or else maybe he got lost going through all of the apartments and houses in the city, sidetracked by the lights and sounds.

Maybe all the other people slept as terribly as he did, resting for an hour or two until they just woke up. There was never anything to do about it either. Nothing but wait until he fell asleep again.

So he stood, tired of waiting around. Tonight it was worse. His legs were itching, mind racing, heart writhing. Nothing to do but go. He threw on a grey t-shirt with a pair of jeans and a hoodie before leaving his house. He wore shoes until he got to the sand, then he took them off.

He was so tired of waiting, of waiting for sleep, of waiting around to see what would happen in his life. Of letting the other business men take advantage of him, the women look at him but other wise ignore him. He was tired of his mother calling and begging him to come home. He was tired of his small apartment and not being able to sleep. He was tired of worrying he would fail on his own.

The sand felt wonderful against his toes, not searing like during the day as the sun shined on it and made it burn, but cool against his skin, calming and just a little bit tickly. It was harder to walk on it, since it displaced with every foot step. But it helped.

He felt as if he were drinking salt it sat so heavily in the air, the scent of the ocean was strong this close to it. He walked farther out, letting the waves lick at his feet. He wondered if a little bit of life entered into his dull obsidian eyes. The ocean reminded him of freedom, and sometimes even of love. It calmed his racing heart as he walked through the cool water. The bottoms of his jeans got wet as he walked, absorbing the water.

He made it to the wooded dock, the wooden surface was rough on his feet as he walked along it, heading just a little farther out. He sat then, and let his feet down into the sea. He liked the feeling of the water against his skin and the way the ocean smelled. He felt his mind slow down, its constant racing finally over come with the calmness of the blue ocean water.

His black eyes looked up at the sky then, taking in the vast dome above him. How the full moon reflected the sun's light back at them. It was silvery and it looked ethereal. The light was illuminated by the water, reflecting and refracting the light, it changed shape as the substance flowed, ebbing back and forth. It reminded the boy of a lullaby.

He heard footsteps then, light footsteps and when he turned his head to look, he saw that girl.

The one with the pretty rose hair, and the white billowy shirt. She had on shorts once again that night, and she sat down beside him. Curling her long pale legs up to her chest, the male could see the small particles of sand that clung to her feet. They were pale too, pale, soft looking, and beautifully shaped. His eyes went to her face then, and he saw the most gorgeous eyes he had ever seen.

They were sea foam green with speckles of ocean blue and it looked like she had crunched up gold flecks in her eyes as well. They were gleaming and wide, her pupils large, and the way she looked around with them was beautiful too.

She gave him a smile, the corners of those gorgeous eyes crinkled and her mouth bent up as she grinned at him. "Hello," she said softly. Her voice was just as pretty as she was. It was mellow and sweet, like she seemed to be. The boy choked out a hello of his own, suddenly he felt very thirsty and the ocean wasn't the only thing holding his attention. The small creature beside him giggled quietly, still smiling at the man. "My name is Sakura." she said.

"Sasuke," the man murmured, his heart started to race once more. There was this sick feeling in his stomach, it came when she came near him, and it intensified when he said something stupid sounding. This was the girl he always saw. Here with him in the flesh. A pretty young thing with porcelain skin and coral hair and sea foam eyes. She looked like a person the ocean made itself.

"I like your eyes." the girl said and she giggled again when he thanked her shyly. "They remind me of the sky, and of octopuses, like their ink." he nodded his head a little.

"I like yours," he said back to her, coal eyes watching her. "They look like sea foam." she grinned at him.

"Thank you."

They quieted then. Sakura's face turning up to the sky as she stretched her legs out, letting her petite feet drag into the ocean water below. Her jade colored eyes watched the large bowl above them, the smile she had had on her face melted a little, awe was left in its place. Sasuke watched the stratosphere for a moment, but he kept looking over at her, wondering why she came and sat by him. Almost anyone else would have walked the other way, found another place to sit, or just left. Most people didn't like bothering with unknown company.

"Did you look for any seashells yet?" the girl asked suddenly turning her attention back to the male beside her. Too stunned to really say anything, he just shook his head. "What they heck are you doing? That's like thing number one, come on!" she jumped up then, splashing some water as she went, she grabbed his hand and started to run. Sasuke tripped at first but regained his footing quickly, following her and running as well.

Sakura didn't let go of the boy's hand when they got to the sand. He wondered vaguely if she meant to and just forgot, or if she liked holding it. Hers was warm and soft, it felt delicate in his larger hand, he didn't want to hold it too tightly, afraid of hurting her bones.

"It takes a good eye to find them," the pink haired girl murmured almost to herself. They walked hand in hand as the girl's eyes were glued to the dark sand. "It's hard in daylight but I'd rather do it at night, not as many irritating people, you know?" she asked as she reached down lifting up a prettily shaped shell. It was a small cone shaped shell, with pink on the inside and creamy white spiraled with another caramely color on the outside. She smiled. "See?"

The raven haired male nodded, black eyes still looking at the shell. "I can hold it if you'd like." She grinned wider and held it out for him to take. So he did. He pointed down at the ground whenever he saw a shell worth picking up. She would retrieve it and Sasuke would hold them in his large hand. Sakura still had a hold of his other one.

The pink haired girl reached down and grabbed a larger shell this time, it was spiraled like the other, but it was a little smaller than the size of her palm, smiling she lifted it to her ear.

"Can you hear the ocean?" the male said chuckling lightly to himself as he watched her. She had a concentrated face on, her brows furrowed and her lush lips were in a line.

"I can, but I dunno if it counts, cause we're right beside the ocean. It sounds beautiful though, whether its the ocean or just my blood." She grinned. "Like a saltwater room." the male raised an eye brow, not sure what she meant.

"Saltwater room?" he repeated. The petite girl nodded, humming out an 'mhm' as well.

"Yea, I think it would be so beautiful. I think I would love it to be under there you know? See how blue and turquoise the water looks from underneath, and all the fishes and the underwater animals. I think it would be so amazing to see how the sun shines into the water, cause it's pretty when its on the top, but going into it, it would be like sunshine going into a window. I would just love it." she smiled.

The boy gave a small smile back to her. He really liked this... this, whatever it was. She reminded him a lot of himself. He thought like that, he never called it a 'saltwater room' but it was a beautiful idea. To be under the water. He could only ever imagine it being totally astonishing and breathtaking.

His black eyes fell to the ground as they walked and then he pointed to where he was looking. "There, grab that please." he said softly to her. She obeyed, leaning down and picking up a piece of green glass. The edges had been worn away by the friction in the water and the salt.

She smiled. "You have a good eye too." she held it up, looking at the moon through it. "It's really pretty."

Sasuke gave her a miniscule smile. "Thanks, I, um, like glass stuff a lot." He mentally kicked himself. _'I, um, like glass stuff a lot. Way to come off sounding stupid and like a bitch!'_

The girl grinned up at him, not knowing of his inner fight with himself. "I really like glass stuff too. I collect glass bottles and sea glass." She glanced at him for a moment. "I didn't know **guys** liked glass stuff though." the boy beside her blushed.

"My friends call me gay for it."

The girl's green eyes widened. "That doesn't mean you're gay! What kind of assholes do you talk to?" she asked, her voice heightened a little with her small speech. "That doesn't mean you're gay at all, what an asshole." she glared at the ground, mood suddenly turning for the worse from his simple words.

_'Just like the ocean.'_ Sasuke thought silently. "I know I'm not, but that's just what they say." he said softly.

The girl nodded. "I know, but it's still rude."

"You know I'm not gay?" he asked chuckling a little, feeling a bit more comfortable with her as they kept walking.

"Yup," she threw him a small look, giggling a little too. "No one who looks like you is allowed to be gay, you're too gorgeous." Sasuke blushed then, midnight eyes falling to the ground.

"Thank you." he said softly, his heart was racing in his chest.

"So Mr. Sasuke," the girl began, trying out a new voice, deepening hers just a little, taking on a character. "Do you think that we will find a red X anywhere along this shore line?"

The male chuckled a little. "We'd have to find a bottle first." The girl looked up at him, he noticed for the first time how long her eye lashes were. They were a light, pale pink, but they were thick and long, they framed her jade eyes perfectly. "It'll have a map in it, you don't just randomly stumble upon buried treasure somewhere, and they definitely don't mark them with giant red X's that would be pointless, too obvious."

The girl giggled, smiling. Her fingers were still gripping onto his, holding their hands together. "What if it's a love note tucked away in a glass bottle?"

"Then whoever it's supposed to be going to won't find it." he said softly. The two continued walking, steps sounding soft and muted against the sand. Both pairs of their feet were naked, padding along the soft surface. The water was still licking against the shoreline. Sasuke liked the feeling of their hands entwined the way they were. It made him feel like he belonged there. A far part of his mind still questioned whether this girl was real or not. But with every look she gave him, every breath she took, and the way her hand felt in his, he knew it had to be real. It just had to be.

After a few more minutes the boy noticed how the girl kept looking up at the stars as they walked. Her lime eyes would be searching the ground for any sort of treasure and then the next second her face would be towards the stratosphere, eyes searching for something completely different.

"Why do you keep looking up at the sky?" the boy said, "I mean if you don't mind me asking."

She smiled brightly at him. "Of course, I don't mind at all." she said softly, glancing at him before looking towards the sky again. The sun's rays were starting to appear. He had been with this girl for hours. "I want to see a shooting star." she murmured. "I have stuff I want to wish for, and I tried it on airplanes, since they're the only flying thing you see around here, but let me tell you that _that _doesn't work. You can't trick wishes into becoming true." Her sea foam eyes kept searching through the stars. "I just want to see one, you know? Before I die." the male nodded beside her. She grinned up at him. "You think I'm nuts huh?"

His black eyes widened, "No, no. Not at all actually." he looked back down at the sand, feeling shy with her once more. "I think it's good." she smiled wider at his words.

"Me too." she said. They walked in silence for a little as the sun started to wake up. It started to shine on them, casting the world into it's morning twilight. She looked up at the sky once more. "I have t- Oh Sasuke look!"

He jumped a little as he looked over at where she pointed. There beneath a layer or two of sand, with water running over its side, was the neck of a glass bottle.

She let go of his hand then, and without her hand he felt a little more alone than he had before. She walked closer to the water, it ran up over her toes and she shivered a little as she bent over, carefully so she wouldn't stick her butt in the water, she dug around the sides of the bottle. She scraped away some of the sand and then taking a hold of it, she pulled it free.

"Look," she smiled up at him before rinsing it off a little in the water. Stepping back over to him, she grinned. "There's something in it. You open it please, my hands are wet." Sasuke chuckled, taking the bottle into his hand and waiting for a second as the girl collected their small assortment of sea glass and seashells he had been holding in his hand.

He pulled the cork out, surprisingly it wasn't completely deteriorated from the water. Delicately, he reached his fingers into the container and pulled out a piece of paper. It was crinkled and it was soft, it felt like old paper, from years and years before. A piece of paper that had been folded, refolded, straightened and finally rolled up into a bottle.

He unfurled it and let his black eyes glaze over the words. "What's it say? What's it say?" the girl asked, standing on her tip toes to try and read it over the male's shoulder. He leaned down then, chuckling inwardly at her height disadvantage.

_'-with your ear to a seashell, do you hear the waves in underwater caves? our time together is just never quite enough. when we're apart whatever are you thinking of? when we're alone, i've never felt so at home. what will it take to make or break this hint of love? i want to own the heart that's half of yours, you're the best i've ever had. darling do you wish we'd fall in love? i do, all the time.'_

"What does that mean?" The small girl asked, her multifaceted eyes glancing through the words once more. Only about half of them were readable, and the names were rubbed off of the page, but it still seemed beautiful. "It sounds so pretty, but sorta sad too." her brows furrowed.

The male shrugged. "I don't know what it means." they were silent for a little as they thought over the words.

"Here, put it back inside, I'll carry the bottle." she said quietly, Sasuke listened and handed it to her. The girl took his hand once more in her free one as they walked. The raven haired man was glad to have her hand back in his. The sun was shinning even stronger now, casting the shore and the immediate line of buildings in pale light. The colorful clouds were about gone, replaced with the normal puffy whiteness. The buildings were once again draped with their shadow robes, getting ready to start the day. A handful of gulls flew over the two young adults as they walked.

Sakura looked up at him then, and giving him a small smile she spoke. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now." her brows were still furrowed and by the look she was giving him, the boy didn't think she wanted to leave. "I have to go home and get changed and everything to go to work, I'm sorry."

Sasuke shook his head. "Don't be, I have to go too."

"I know," Sakura grinned once more, lifting the bottle for the boy to take. His fingers wrapped around the neck of the medium sized glass thing as the female took the small objects they collected. A handful of pretty seashells and a few pieces of sea glass. She looked up at him for a moment, with her gem like green eyes. "I'm glad I finally got to meet you, Sasuke." she said the words with a smile on her face.

"What do yo mean finally?" he asked her before she had the chance to leave.

The girl's smile widened, as if she had been waiting for him to ask her all night. The sun kissed her skin, casting her in that pretty pale light. The one that washed out her hair and left her skin looking like ivory. Her eyes gleamed up at him. "My friend said she knew a guy from where she works. She said he has this really cute cow-lick in his black hair, and these black eyes that look like space without any stars. She also told me that this guy... whoever he is, ignores her when she tries to talk him up; and that whenever she comes into your office to try and give you your morning coffee, you're either staring out at the ocean or trying to catch a nap on your desk. She says you smell like saltwater and whenever she sees you it looks like you're there but not really _there._" She was grinning and looking at the ground, as if it embarrassed her to tell him such things.

"It reminds me of me," she murmured. "y_ou_ remind me of me." She turned away from him for a second, pink hair blowing a little in the slight breeze. The boy could smell the ocean and he could still feel the little grains of that soft sand on his feet. "I want to see you again okay?" She kissed his cheek then, quickly and chastely before giving him a small sweet smile and scurrying away. "Thank you!" she waved one of the shells up in the air as she called the words over her shoulder.

The male looked down at the glass bottle they had found together. It was clear, and the old paper was still inside. He wondered to himself then, if maybe he would have love notes from that rose haired girl contained in the bottle before long enough. He grinned a little as he kicked his foot into the sand. He glanced over his shoulder to see the girl leaving, her large white shirt still moving some in the wind as she went. Once she was out of sight he headed back towards his apartment. Maybe sleep was overrated, he decided. He felt much more happy in that moment than all the times he slept put together.

* * *

**Inspiration from _'the saltwater room'_ by owl city, I love that song, it's one of my favorites :) and in the beginning sasuke's not creepin on Sakura, it was always just when he woke up and looked outside he just saw her, coincidence ne? :) Thank you all for reading, hope you all enjoyed it :D leave a review, lemme know what you think please :) **

_**peace,**_

_**a. rose. love**_


	13. best thing in this town

**Hello, sorry it's taking so long for all these, I really really do feel bad, I hate when people post stuff late, and here I am, posting wayy waaayyy late /: but okay, so I totally love fall out boy, like, ah, they were my first favorite band back in the day (like 2-3 years ago tehe) and I still think they're great, and I got a lot of inspiration from their songs for this, so I hope you all enjoy :)**

**I hope someday I can have something as famous as Naruto, but alas; I own nothing famous :(**

_**storie :}**_

_x. o. x. o._

_best thing in this town._

"Get the fuck out of my way!" the boy yelled, pushing through people in the hallway. He could see her pink hair bobbing down the hall in front of him. He could pick her out in a crowd easily, how she walked, how she dressed, the color of her hair. Everything. "Move!" he yelled again, hissing the word out at a girl who stood in his way. Her eyes widened as he moved by her, he ignored the fact that she was even there after he issued the command.

He pushed through them, damn it why did it always have to be a mass of bodies when he needed to get through? He practically snarled at another teenager when the unfortunate boy stepped, accidentally, into Sasuke's path. He jumped back quickly, smartly dodging the Uchiha.

Why hadn't she told him? Why was _Naruto_ his only source of information about her? She was dating him. Not Naruto, or Neji, or Kiba. None of them. She was _his_ girlfriend. And he would be damned if he had to know something **this** important again from Naruto.

"Sakura!" he yelled, chasing after her. His legs carried him through the crowd, he could physically feel the long strides he was taking, but he hadn't consciously told himself to do it. "Shit," he muttered as he tripped over his own foot. Straightening he continued to follow her.

It was the last period, of the last day, of the last year. For both of them. Their graduation was in two weeks. Two weeks to that day.

There she was! He finally caught up to her. She was with Ino and Hinata, that Tenten girl Neji had had a thing with was there too.

"Sakura," the male huffed out, not caring whether he intruded on the females' little get together. "Why the hell did Naruto tell me that you're moving to Iwa tomorrow?" When the petite Hyuuga girl's face twisted and a few tears fell from her pale plum eyes, he knew it had to be the truth.

The rosette looked at her friends and gave them a small smile. "We'll hang out tomorrow afternoon okay? And bring the guys too," she looked up at Sasuke with a sad smile. "I have a feeling it won't just be a girl's day out."

"O-okay Sak," Ino had large tears in her baby blue eyes. "Ooh," she wailed a little as she wrapped her thin arms around Sakura's waist. Hinata joined, making it a group hug as Tenten threw her arms around her three other best friends.

"I knew we were graduating but come on, Sakura, I'm gonna kill you." the brunette had a waver in her voice, tears also coming from her caramel eyes. "We were supposed to have a great summer and rock the beaches and kill random guys with gorgeousness. Why the hell are you leaving?"

The other three laughed and choked a little on their tears as they remembered the plans they had made in eighth grade. "I know, we'll still do it, I promise. But I don't think I can this summer. Dad got a new job, and they're not staying here until college starts. I have to go with them. We'll meet you guys tomorrow okay?" She gently retracted herself from the web of arms. The other girls nodded as Sakura took Sasuke's hand and started walking away with him. "I love you guys," she said smiling over her shoulder at them as they practically screamed the words back at her.

She cast her jade eyes up to the male beside her. "I'm sorry," she said. She felt his hand tighten around hers and wondered what he was feeling. "Sasuke?" she asked quietly.

"You're a jerk." he said it just as quietly, his deep voice soft, she knew he didn't mean it. "Annoying girl, why didn't you tell me?" he asked gently without giving her a chance to answer. "I would have been with you _everyday_. We wouldn't have fought about that _stupid_ shit last week. I would have stayed over, and we could have been together... Sakura," her looked down at her, his voice quieting as he did so. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She watched him as he walked, his feet were lacking his normal purpose. "Just take me home Sasuke, okay?" she asked him quietly. It was hard enough to leave. But discussing it wit the people you loved was something totally different. He listened to her, dropping the subject for the moment and led her to his car once they collected their things.

The car ride was more or less silent, besides the stereo deciding to play shitty music. The coral haired girl flipped through stations, sighing as the only things she heard were lyrics screaming of sex without love and death without purpose. But after a few minutes of the music, something good came on.

"Sasuke!" the girl squeaked, a large smile gripped her lips then. The male looked at her. He was still being quiet, still brooding, perhaps. "Listen." so he did as she asked as she turned up the volume.

The boy grinned despite himself as his girl started to sing, and after a moments hesitation, he joined her. His deep voice matched the singers better than Sakura's did.

"_Turn off the lights, and turn off the shyness, 'Cause all of our moves make up for the silence. And oh, the way your makeup stains my pillowcase; Like, I'll never be the same."_

They screamed along with the chorus, relishing in their song as it washed out from the speakers over their skin. It dispersed the sadness that clung to the air like spiderwebs. Sakura smiled, nodding her head along with the beat and moving her arms a little in her seat. She knew she couldn't dance well, she felt sort of idiotic as she did it, but she smiled all the same.

It was their song. It reminded them of so much. Their first kiss, their first love, their first sex. All of it. It was to that song, and every time either of them heard it, it simply made them smile.

"Your makeup really does stain though," Sasuke said from the driver's seat as he pulled into his driveway. Sakura stuck her tongue out at him. "But I like it," he laughed when she looked at him oddly, wondering why he liked it. "It reminds me of you, otherwise mom just thinks I wear cover up." he stuck his tongue out back at her before killing the engine and pecking her on the cheek.

"You probably do," the girl laughed when Sasuke simply replied with 'Maybe.' They both knew he didn't, but it was funny regardless of the truth.

Within seconds both teenagers found themselves in his room. Their bags on the floor, backs resting against his pillows. His parents weren't home due to work, and lord only knew where Itatchi was. Leaving them all alone in the large house.

Their current situation hung in the air like an elephant stuffed into a small closet. It was large, and suffocating. Neither quite knowing what to do.

"I just..." the boy started in a middle of a thought, a thought that didn't really have a beginning, and he didn't want to go to the end of it either. The end was sad. "You're still coming with me to Washington and Jefferson?" he asked quietly. "I mean, that's not going to change is it?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, that won't change. I'm still going with you." she gave him a small smile. "It's just for the summer. I don't have anywhere to stay till then, so I have to go with them."

"You could stay here." It was the first time in years that she heard his voice crack like that. The low sweet noise breaking a little in the middle of his words. His beautiful black eyes refused to meet her gorgeous jade ones. "I'm sure mom and dad won't mind, you could even take Itatchi's-"

"Sasuke," she said his name and he stopped talking, waiting for her to tell him what she was thinking. "I can't, I won't be allowed, you know that." He wouldn't admit it out loud but he didn't pursue that possibility farther, he knew she was right.

"But you can't leave..." he said it so softly, his voice sounded sad, as if he had already lost her. "you're the best thing in this whole damn town." the boy said quietly, his heart beat uncomfortably in his chest at the thought of her being away from him, and being alone in the hell hole they called home.

They stayed silent for a while after that. He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers, lifting her hand to his lips and gently placing a kiss on them. Sighing he laid there for a few more minutes, trying to figure out some way that she could stay the summer.

"Do you remember why we started dating?" Sakura asked suddenly, a small smile sitting on her lips.

"Which reason?" Sasuke asked, having an idea where it was going but deciding to ask anyways. "There were a lot of different reasons." he grinned, he couldn't list them all on one hand.

"Which one do you think?" She asked him, a smile on her lips as well.

"I'm personally going to bet fifty bucks that you're thinking about how they all dared us to date, because we hated each other, and they decided it was actually hidden love." He raised an eyebrow and looked over at her, waiting to see if he could read her as well as he thought he could.

She nodded then. "That's exactly the one I was thinking." She laughed out loud. "I mean, I couldn't stand you," she glanced over at him and saw he was starting to chuckle too. "I was always just so mad you were always right, and all those girls were always hanging all over you." the boy nodded once more, remembering the fangirls who constantly attacked him. "I thought you were a dick."

"I am." He grinned when she rolled her pretty gem eyes at him.

"Well not the kind I thought you were-"

She felt his hands on her shoulders then, and suddenly she was on her back, and he was leaning over her. "No?" he asked it so innocently. "I'm not the kind of dick you thought I was?" he asked, smirking in something like victory over her.

"Well," the girl glared up at him. "If you were, I wouldn't like you." She smiled, thinking she had won.

The male hummed. "Nope, you just like assholes."

She didn't find the humor in it like he did as he started to laugh. "Did I tell you I _still_ hate you?" the girl said, her green eyes bright her face twisted in false anger at the male who stood over her, like he was the dominant one in everything.

The boy ignored her, leaning down over her, a small smirk sitting on his lips. "Don't even try to lie, Sakura, lying doesn't suit you. Your hair would be a different color if you did."

Her soft jaw dropped a little then. "What color would I have? Black?"

"Dear, you really shouldn't try," he grinned wickedly at her and dipped closer and bit quickly at her lips. He pinned her beneath him, uninterested in trying to sort out their distance mess. "If it were black then you're just saying I lie, and then you're setting yourself up, no? Annoying girl."

Her eyes narrowed further, "You are _such_ a _dick,_ Sasuke." he was always calling her that _'annoying girl, my annoying Sakura.'_ It was irritating, but he didn't stop. But it was better than bitch, she supposed.

"As long as I'm the biggest," he said softly, his lips falling back onto the girl's skin. Her mind scattered then, throwing the information she knew they should be talking about into the wind, forgetting for the moment everything she needed to tell him.

His soft mouth danced across her flesh, causing her to gasp as he hit her sensitive spots. Something warm fell in her and she wondered vaguely why they were doing this now. They had a much bigger situation at hand, she shouldn't be feeling _that_. He always felt so good to her, so evil, so rude and annoying, but so perfect too, like his attitude covered how much he actually cared. Today was one of the rare days that he showed how much he really did love her.

A quiet moan fell from her rose lips, she quickly shut her mouth, and pink laced its way up her cheeks as the boy pulled back from her, taking his wonderful, maddening, sexy, damp mouth away from her skin.

"Did you honestly just moan?" he asked her in a gentle whisper, one of his eyebrows raised in disbelief. His deep ink colored eyes rested on her face, a question of legitimacy hung behind them.

Sakura's blush intensified. Nodding slowly, she looked down away from him embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "It's just-I-I... I'm sorry."

The male in front of her grinned deliciously, his raven fringe brushing against her cream skin as he captured her lips in his. "Mm, no its a good thing," his onyx eyes ran over her face. Taking in her bright luminescent jade eyes and her electric pink hair. "You know? I shouldn't like you."

"E-excuse me?" she squeaked out, Sasuke smirked as he felt her heart jump against his chest.

"You're so bright," he said as he untangled himself from her arms, then he climbed onto her, straddling her lap as he took the girl's hands into his own. "You just shine." his eyes narrowed as he said the words, as if he were analyzing her for a reaction.

"Thank you?" the girl mumbled, the warm feeling was still inside of her, making her feel awkward at how he was sitting on her, but she liked it at the same time.

"So fucking bright," the male murmured as he picked up the girl's hand, nuzzling it gently against his face. "You know I'm certifiable right?"

"What- Sasuke, ouch!"

His obsidian eyes jumped up to the young woman's face, they seemed to swirl dangerously, her fingers were still in between his sharp teeth. His hands were still holding onto her smaller ones, gripping them in his larger, stronger fingers. He let the girl's hand drop from his mouth, though still keeping it close to his face.

"I'm _basically_ insane."

He popped the girl's fingers into his mouth once more, letting his tongue run over the small soft things. Sakura's green, green eyes widened at the heat from his mouth, and the feeling of his tongue.

"Sasu-" another small gasp escaped from her, her heart leaping in her chest as his dark, dark eyes rested on her. Her throat felt dry as she watched him suck and nibble on her fingers.

Tongue, warm, warm, warm, soft, delicate, delicious, gentle, pain, licks. Eyes staring, gauging, laughing, twinkling. Hearts racing, beating, throbbing, jumping, pounding. Warm, warm, _hard,_ gasps, memories, _wet._

"Why are you insane?" she murmured, sounding breathless, her heart was still throbbing in her chest. They had changed positions and she couldn't even remember when. She was looking evenly with him now, laying side by side, his hands were pressed against her skin, and his shadow eyes were staring into hers. One of his legs were in between her thighs.

His black orbs fell to her chest, watching for a few seconds at how it raised and lowered with his girl's uneven breathing. They darted back up to her face then, his face blank of almost all expression. "I'd burn this whole fucking city down to show you the light. I think my heart's about to give out, like I'm about to flatline, but not in the way you'd think."

She looked at him, a feeling of confusion in her jade eyes. "What does that mean?" she murmured.

"No fucking clue." he said. The girl reached over to him and gently put her fingers underneath the fabric of his granite colored shirt. "What are you doing?" he asked faintly, his black eyes growing mischievous with the girl's small action.

Sakura didn't answer, but stared up at him with her jade eyes dilated and her breathing was still off. Her fingers pulled at the soft fabric, willing him to let her remove it from his chest.

The male's lips formed into a smirk, his black orbs seemed to take on the mad glint again. "What are you doing?" Sasuke's long fingers found the girl's hemline, "Ladies first," he pulled the thin teal colored fabric up over her head, letting his eyes graze over the young woman's now exposed skin. Creamy and soft, delicate, unmarred, perfect. The man's fingers fell to the soft flesh, running them over it time and time again.

Delicate, vulnerable, exposed, unguarded, weak, and tender. A far off part of his mind wondered how easy it would be to snap her. Just pick her petite form up in his large hands and snap. She would be gone, dead. It would be a matter of seconds.

He ignored the train of thought for the moment, being caught off guard as the young woman pulled his grey shirt from his skin. A wicked grin fell to his lips as he pushed himself away from Sakura and watched her for a few moments. She was flustered and her skin was pink, her breathing coming in odd bursts, her small chest jumping with them. He did this to her. Just sitting and talking to her drove her mad.

Now maybe she would understand why he was crazy.

Because she drove him to be that way.

He continued to sit back away from her, the cool air that hit his flushed skin sent shivers down his spine, he wanted to get close to her again, to loose himself in her. But he sat back, wondering vaguely what she would do, and if she wanted it enough to come after him.

Sasuke heard her whimper the first time, a small soft noise that fell almost inaudibly from her lips. He raised a raven eyebrow at her, questioning her.

"Sasuke," she murmured, her eyebrows furrowed on her forehead, marring her skin with wrinkles. He wondered how fast it would take her to grow impatient with him, until she would be all over him, throwing herself at him, practically begging him to get inside of her. He wondered how long it would take for her to turn off her shyness.

He felt her softly, ever so subtly, grind her body up against his leg. The leg that was between her thighs, the one that was rubbing against a very delicate spot.

Her jade eyes narrowed, a demand was in her voice when she spoke his name this time. She wanted his attention, and his hands, his lips. She wanted all of him, and she was demanding it in the whispered, low, breathless way she spoke to him.

The male held out for a few more seconds, but practically lost it when the petite female laying in front of him took his hands and put them on her own skin. The heat of her flesh into his hands made his heart jump again, racing back to life in his chest.

"Come here," she mumbled to him, inching herself closer to him, too impatient to wait for him to make his swimming mind up. She fell into him, molded to him, skin to skin, flesh to flesh. A melding of the two.

The boy felt his mind leave him further, his thoughts were scattered and flung into the farthest depths of his deranged mind. He kissed her lips and her neck, bit and sucked at her breasts and throat. Gasps and moans escaped through the small woman in his arms, making him feel even more mad every time the soft noises were released as he touched and teased her.

_x. o. x. o._

"Do you know I always hope to dream of you?" he asked lightly, his breath fanning over her skin, one arm held him up as his other fingers tangled themselves in the girl's long rose colored hair. She looked up at him, her grass eyes still soft looking with an animalistic under-lacing.

"What do you mean?" her voice was soft and far away sounding. She was still breathless. Their clothes were laying in mismatched piles on his bedroom floor. He pulled the comforter tighter around them as he felt the girl nudge herself closer to him. He could feel her breasts against his chest and her bare legs tangled in his.

"I used to hope to dream of living. Just doing anything to show I was alive," his dark eyes rested on the small girl in his arms, in his bed. "which is probably why you thought I was a dick, but now... now I just wish of you, to dream of you and me, and me and you. Until we have nothing left. Just forever, you know?"

She nodded slightly, burying her head in between his pillow and the crook of his neck. She was tired. He was too, but it could be their last night together, it wasn't just about screwing and her leaving so he could find someone else. It was about her, and showing her how much he really, truly, _honestly_ cared. No matter how much he picked at her, or acted asshole-ish sometimes. She was his and she needed to **know. ** "I know," she murmured up to him, he felt her arms wrap around his waist, holding him to her. He knew it was her way of telling him it would be okay. "I love you." she whispered, and then he felt the dampness. He pulled back away from her, so that her face would be lit in the small amount of light left in the room.

He saw the small tracks of thin tears, tears she was trying to hold back.

"I love you too," he said it back, and even though he wished he didn't, he did. He felt it every time she was with him. From the way she laughed, to the way she cried. It was always her, no matter what she did, or how she did it. He knew it was her.

"I know you, right?" he raised an eyebrow, about to spit out a few unpleasant words, wondering why the hell she would ask _that_ after they just had sex. But the petite girl cut him off before he had a chance to start. "I mean, like I know _you_ you. The inside you. The only you that _you_ know best. I know the inside Sasuke right?" her brows were furrowed and he could see in the look that she was worried.

He nodded. "You do."

The girl breathed. "I'm just worried nothing will ever be the same. I keep thinking you'll find someone else." Sakura let her eyes fall up to the male, watching his ink eyes run over her face. "That's why I didn't tell you sooner... well... at all actually."

Sasuke let himself fall against the pillows, the arm that had been supporting his side was going numb. "I'm not going to find anyone else. I think that's another reason why I'm insane." he breathed for a few moments, eyes appearing to inspect the ceiling but he was really thinking over his words. "I would wait forever if I had to, so that I could wake up to you every morning." her looked at her then. "I mean seriously, I would burn the fucking city down, I would go every _day_ with out you for forever, if after that, I could wake up to you every morning." he watched her eyes as she watched his, and she knew he was being serious.

"I'm not leaving. It's just an hour and a half away." he kissed her then, trying to put everything he felt and thought into the simple act. "I'll fucking walk if I have to."

_x. o. x. o._

**hmm, I like this but I hope it isn't confusing, I took a while to write it cause I couldn't get it right, but here, happy April fools day, this doesn't actually have anything to do with April fools lol... eh, anyways...**

**I'm sorry its taking me so long, I fell behind and school and gotta catch up by this Thursday so that's why everything is taking forever to get done, but I promise I have more stuff that is being planned :) love you guys :D**

**thank you for reading and hope you all liked it, leave me a review and tell me what you think please :)**

_**peace**_

_**a. rose. love**_


	14. love at first sight

I know I never really do dedications, but I really feel that this one needs one:

To the prettiest boy I've ever seen, who will never read this, who will also never know he gave me inspiration, who will probably never talk to me again for the simple matter of fact that he's older and way more awesome than I'll ever be.

To my friends for keeping me my own version of sane (:

To one of my best friends who also gave me a poop ton of inspiration for this and who also introduced me to the prettiest boy I've ever seen as stated in my first statement (:

To little. artist, and to AkemiKizuma-Chan; both for reading my stories, and talking to me even though I take forever to update; and I'm sorry to everyone for the time it takes me, trust me it irritates me too haha

To public school, I hated you but oh, I miss my poopy school so much

For swear words, because jerk and meanie just don't always cut it.

Also for wishes, because I legitimately wish on everything I can.

To stories and love because without them, none of us would be anything.

To all of you (if you're still rad enough to be reading my rambling) for reading my stories and not hating me that it took me like 2 months to update anything, promise it'll come eventually, just might take a while.

And also to Masashi Kishimoto for bringing Naruto into the world.

I do not own Naruto

Alright, now its story time (:

Did you ever just _see_ that person and just _know _you love them?

_Love at first sight_

_x. o. x. o._

He could feel sweat beading beneath his t-shirt as he stepped out onto the porch from the packed house. The breeze made him shiver slightly, causing small goose-bumps to come along his forearms. He could still hear the music blasting from some far away stereo in the building, but it wasn't as mind-numbing outside of the house. He could hear the crickets as well, clicking their legs and making a music of their own. The scent of clean cut grass and rainstorms hung in the air.

He stood quietly for a few seconds, breathing quietly and trying to work up his guts enough to look over at her.

He had known he wasn't alone, he saw her from his peripheral vision. Saw her sitting with her hair bright and eye catching, smoke curling from the cigarette sitting in her slender fingers. She was sitting on the porch swing, with one leg delicately tucked beneath her and the other was resting on the wooden floor, gently pushing the swing back and forth.

She hadn't noticed him, and if she had, she hadn't made a move to show she did. Her jade eyes were pasted in the far off sky, watching how the deep navy blue morphed into darkness. Shadows painted themselves along the ground, the trees and bushes in the yard were nothing but dark silhouettes at night. Stars hung low in the sky, leaving small rays of light to break through the otherwise suffocating darkness. A hand full of fireflies winked on the ground, as if reflecting the stars in the stratosphere.

"Why aren't you inside?" he asked softly. He didn't want to ruin the peaceful quiet and nature's music, but he wanted to talk to her. To speak with her and hear her sweet voice. He had only talked to her a handful of times, but each time it was wonderful, and left him wanting to be with her more.

She looked up at him then; eyes widened a little as she did before giving him a small grin. She was breathtaking as she gave him that smile; he wanted to keep it with him. "I'm not one for partying," she replied, patting the seat next to her, inviting him closer. He took the notion and sat down on the wooden surface beside her. "This is as close as I get." she held up the cigarette as if making a point. "And that's almost too much for me." she smudged its life out with her foot as she said the words. "My best friend brought me."

He nodded with understanding, thinking with one half of his mind of how his friends were forever trying to make him go places, the other side was wondering if this 'best friend' she spoke of was the one who had been with her when they had first met.

_The first time he had saw her, she and another blonde girl had come into the small convenience store where he worked. They had been on a quest for Moose track ice cream, a pound of beef, microwaveable French fries, and peach-flavored Snapple iced tea. Possibly four of the oddest objects to get at once, but the store he worked in sold everything at almost every hour._

_She had come in, with her pink hair tied in a curling bun, eyes framed by rose bangs and laced with purple and yellow eyeliner. Her friend followed, eyes wrapped in blue eye shadow and long eyelashes. They had smiled at him, random objects sitting on the small counter in front of him._

_When Sasuke had looked at them funny, they both just giggled, one holding up money, while the other waited to grab their purchase._

_"Twenty-six dollars and four cents." He had said it quietly, averting his eyes from the pink haired one, he was sure for the moment his cheeks were flush._

"_Four is my lucky number." She grinned widely at him, showing all her white teeth before handing over the money, while her blonde friend grabbed the bag. "Thanks." They both began to walk away then, and the male simply stood, staring after them for a few seconds before ringing up the next customer._

_The first time had been a fluke, he never thought he was going to see her again, but the next day, she showed up again, this time her hair was straightened and she had on high top Chuck Taylor's. Sasuke didn't know why he noticed everything about her, even down to her shoes. It made him smile to himself though; he had on black high tops too._

_She only bought a red Sharpie that day, the tiniest thing to go get, but he thought maybe she actually needed it._

_She told him her name then, standing for a few moments and talking to him. He liked her voice, and listening to her sort of just ramble about things. She was really quite pretty, and her name matched her almost perfectly._

"_Sakura."_

The male looked up at her then, and ran a hand through his hair for a second before he let the appendage fall back into his lap. "I know what you mean, not everyone likes drinking."

"Do you?" she shot the question at him, gazing at him with large eyes. They were framed again by her pink fringe, light eyelashes thick and full, rounded with black liner.

He wanted to answer right, give her a reason to like him more, but he didn't want to lie. So hanging his head a little to hide his black eyes with his own fringe, he nodded once more, having trouble finding his voice. "Just sometimes though, not a lot." He chanced it and looked up at her through his eyelashes.

She giggled a little at his answer and his antics. "I see."

He wondered for a minute what exactly that meant, but decided not to pursue it. He watched as she gave him the smallest of smiles before her liquid jade eyes returned to the stars, watching the lights wink from eons away.

"You like stars huh?" the male asked it quietly and quickly, it escaped his lips before he could edit himself. She turned once more to look at him, that pretty smile nestling back on her lips. "I-I'm sorry, that's-"

"No," she grinned at him. "Don't be sorry. But yea," her green orbs rested on him as she spoke; to the boy they shined brighter than all the stars. "I really love them. It's just so breathtaking, you know? They're billions upon trillions of miles away, some might already be dead but we don't know yet; just because their _light_ is the only way we even know they're there. It's really amazing."

He hadn't thought about it like that before. His own ink eyes swam up to the lustrous stars. "They really are." He murmured into the heavens, suddenly wondering how much about the earth and space they really had no idea about. "I never thought about it like that," He continued, "how many do you think are actually dead?" he asked.

The girl to his right shrugged. "I don't know," she murmured before continuing. "I don't think it matters yet, if they all go out then it might." She followed his gaze and looked up at the stratosphere. "But it would be sad to look at a sky without any stars at night. Night would be terrible. It would be very dark, and very dull."

"No it wouldn't," the boy retorted almost instantly. "Stars aren't the only things that give off light at night." The girl turned her eyes on him once more, pink hair blowing a little as a small breeze snuck past them. She looked at him skeptically. "Come on," he got up then, pivoting to look at her as he stood. He took a few steps backwards as he spoke. "I'll show you."

Sakura watched him, gauging to see where he would be taking her but something in her stomach pushed her to follow him as he turned away from her and started walking. "Hey!" she squeaked, trying to jump off of the wooden swing but tripped over her own legs in the process. "Wait up."

The male slowed his step by a fraction, shoulders twisting just barely, giving her a chance to catch up to him. She saw his slate eyes swirl back to watch her progress. She caught up to him in a few steps, easily falling into stride with him.

"What're you going show me?" she asked as she folded her hands behind her back, watching the ground so she wouldn't trip over nothing again.

"You'll see." He said, pretty voice soft as they walked.

He led her away from the house, guiding her away from the noise and the partying. Sakura noticed he put his hands into his pockets as they walked. She grinned a little, liking the way his shoes thudded in time with her own, and how he half watched the ground and also looked ahead. Just like she did. She was smiling to herself at these small observations when she also noticed, from her peripheral vision the dandelion growing innocently out of the ground.

"Hold on for a second," she said softly leaning over and picking up the now white fluffy plant. She supposed it had been a pretty yellow flower, before the seeds came out on it, but she was excited, none-the-less.

Taking in a breath, she waited for a moment, repositioning the fluffy thing in her hands, and then blew out, the air rushed past her pink lips and the seeds flew from the stem, cascading into the surrounding air and floating away.

The rose haired girl laughed as she watched the dandelion fluff glide through the air. It seemed to dance as it went to find a new home. She grinned widely. "Look!" she lifted the now naked plant up to Sasuke's face. "I blew them all off in the first breath." She closed her eyes quickly as the boy watched, chuckling silently to himself.

"What're you doing now?" he asked her, wondering why she closed her eyes. Yea it was hard to blow all of them off in a single breath every time, but he had done it plenty of times as a child.

"You're supposed to make a wish." She said to him, matter-of-factly. "I just wish on everything," she said quietly, letting the stem fall back to the ground and her eyes fell up to the stars. "I wish on stars and dandelion fluff, at 11:11 and every year on my birthday candles. When we have Thanksgiving I always break the wishbone with someone from my family." She grinned and her head fell a little, as if embarrassed by it. As if he would think it was the most childish and idiotic thing in the world. "I, uhm," she giggled a little. "I even wish on four-leaf clovers, even though I know they're only supposed to bring good luck."

She let herself look up at him then, taking in his gorgeous eyes and his black hair. "It's pretty silly, huh?"

The boy shook his head almost immediately. "No," he said. "I think it's good, people should wish more often." The girl smiled at him then, white teeth gleaming in the moonlight, and Sasuke felt himself grin back at her before he turned away and continued walking. She just made him want to smile.

"Here," he stopped after another few minutes passed. "This is what I wanted to show you." He pivoted to look at the female who was following him. "See?"

She looked around for a moment, before casting her gaze back to him.

They were standing in a small field; the house they had been at was about a hundred and fifty yards away. They could still see the windows and the lights, but the music had long faded and the people were far away as well. Fireflies flew all around here, in what seemed like a ridiculous number. The field was just full of them. Whether they were flying higher through the air, or a few inches above the ground, it was a spectacular show. Some beamed yellow, some green. Sakura even thought she saw a red lightening bug.

"These are what you wanted to show me?" she asked in awe of the pretty things.

Sasuke nodded as he let himself fall onto the ground. Ignoring the prickly grass and the rock that decided to dig into his side. The blades were high, fireflies hiding in them and possibly other creatures as well. He closed his eyes for a moment and while they were shut he heard the female plop down beside him.

"Maybe it wouldn't be terribly, terribly sad if the stars all died." She said softly. "I would miss them, but I'm glad these little guys are here too." She grinned, letting one of her slender hands unfurl into the air, holding it out for any one of the small bright beings to land on. They kept sidetracking her, all the flashes and the surreal feeling of it. "They're so cute, can we name them?"

The boy's eyes opened and he threw her a look. "Name them?" Sakura liked the way his voice sounded as he chuckled at her. "You're going to name all of them?"

She giggled, "No, but I would if I could. They seem like they should have names. Would you help me?"

She saw him grin from the corner of her eye, "Well if we can name one 'Butthole'…" he paused, turning his gaze on her. "Then yea, I'll help you name some of them."

" 'Butthole'? " Sakura asked him skeptically.

The male simply nodded at her. "This one will be Butthole, that one can be Timmy," he pointed to a few of the bugs as he named them. "And then that one can be Richard, Benny, and a Jenkins-"

"Why are they all boy names?" the girl's pink hair flipped over her should when she whipped her head around to look at him. "There are girls too." He looked at her amusedly. "Something like, Lila, Lottie, Chloe, Violet. Something like those."

"You know the boys are the ones that are supposed to be glowing?" Sasuke asked, that small amused smirk was still resting on his lips. "So they would be boy names." That earned him a look from the female laying beside him.

"Boys get to do everything cool," the girl muttered and the boy laughed out loud then. It may or may not be the truth, but regardless, it struck him funny.

Silence fell between them. Each lied in the green grass, wrapped and lost in their own thoughts; their eyes wandering through the open air, watching the stars and the lightening bugs wink and twinkle light to them. It was so quiet; the male could have sworn he heard bugs flying past his head if his heart hadn't been hammering.

It was racing, beating, throbbing almost painfully in his chest. She had to know he was nervous. There was no avoiding it; his heart was just drumming so _loudly._ And he desperately wanted to hold her hand. He couldn't stop thinking about it. Taking the small delicate thing into his larger hand, and just holding it. Keeping it safe from the outside world with his skin and bones. He already felt like he'd protect her to the ends of the world.

"You know," the boy whispered, tired of feeling the swimming nervousness in his stomach. Wanting to sidetrack himself from his own thoughts. "Your birthday is coming up in a few days, right?"

She nodded. "In four days."

He sat in silence, contemplating what to say to that. How to respond, how to keep her talking. Desperate, desperate, desperate…

"What do you want for it?" he finally decided. It was a lame question, but one that practically guaranteed an answer.

It hung in the air around them as the pretty young creature to his right mulled over her words. "I want to forget everything for a night." she glanced at him for a moment before her gaze retreated and fell back up to the sky. "I just don't want to worry for a night. Like, I mean, I don't want to party, and I don't want to have sex, but just lose myself and not think of any problems till sunrise, you know?" she looked at him shyly again, as if re-evaluating her statement.

He hummed a soft yes, without looking at her, afraid his heart would break through his ribcage if he did. His hands fidgeted some, still wanting to take her hand and pull her closer. "I know the feeling," he murmured into the stratosphere.

"Would you take me?"

The words immediately reminded the male of lace. Something so delicate, looking as if it has no logical sense or meaning, no order to it. But then after closer inspection, you can tell there is a specific pattern, there's nothing but logic and meaning behind every stitch, every loop. Those words were lace. Hanging delicately in the air. Delicately but deliberately. They were spoken quietly, whispered into the stronger wind. They were a suggestion, and a line. A possible boundary. An edge.

Silence fell once more as the boy tried to calm his furiously racing heart. There it went again, jumping, throbbing, pounding crazily in his chest. Beating up against his bones and marrow. Thankful for the darkness, he opened his mouth, a warm feeling bleeding up his neck. "I'm leaving tomorrow for five days. I-it's a family thing," he added quickly, unsure why he felt the need to explain himself to her.

"Oh-"

"But," he cut her off before she could make him lose his nerve. "I could take you tonight." he took another chance then and glanced over at her, meeting her pretty eyes.

She had looked over at the same moment and they stared at each other for a handful of seconds and a smile broke across the young woman's face. "Okay," she said softly, and within moments, both were standing and brushing off their backsides, before heading towards the male's car.

Thoughts jumbled in his mind as they went. Worried ones of how to make her happy, how to make her _smile_ again. What he would **do.** Why he even offered, wishing that his heart would stop its useless pounding. He wondered why that pretty smile made him want to smile, and how such feelings could develop in such a short time.

They reached the vehicle and the male's hand hesitated over the handle of the door. Looking up at her over the roof of the car, he spoke. "Do you trust me?"

The young creature's heart jumped then. The question was bound to come eventually. Two weeks, two weeks… kept marching through her pretty head.

It was a short time, but as she looked at him, how his black hair fluffed a little more on one side, the way he looked at her, and his half crooked smile. She simply nodded her head. "I do."

And she did. More than she should have, but something inside of her, something in her guts, told her that it would be fine. That he was _safe._ The same part was constantly whispering _'home.'_ when she was with him. Her guts were telling her that he was as sweet as they came.

So after another second of silence, the male nodded, whispering "Okay," before pulling the door to his burnt orange Corvette and settling in the seat. He popped the keys into the keyhole as the rose headed girl sat in the seat beside him, placing her hands in her lap and folding her fingers together. She was suddenly feeling very nervous, as if she hadn't expected him to actually say yes.

The ride was silent for a while, the girl's eyes hung on the window; watching as the male drove back out through the back road. The hills rose high on either side of the small road; covered with green trees and grasses. Down to her left, Sakura could barely make out the gleam of running water. She sighed; it would have been pretty scenery, had it not been almost 2 am.

"Will you tell me a secret, please?" she spoke softly, still staring out the window. She was afraid to look at him, he was so damn gorgeous. Even that first day she had met him, she just felt in her guts that he was the most beautiful person she would ever meet.

"Why?"

It hadn't been said defensively, or rudely; it was simply stated as a question, curious as to her reasoning why. She opened her mouth again. "I'm just curious, like I just like to know things about people. And you know, even if we never talk again and this somehow just blows up everywhere; there's no one you can tell. No one who knows me that it would matter anyways."

She saw him nod out of her peripheral vision, and after a moment he spoke. "Sometimes at night I think so much I can't sleep."

She waited a moment for him to continue, and after the short silence, he did. "I think too hard about everything, and I make myself sick. I can't fall asleep, and even if by a miracle I can, I can't stay asleep. My brain is just always going, and always thinking and I don't know how to shut it off. The only thing that helps sometimes is drinking, it like gives you this buzz and your brain shuts off for a little. The first time it was scary;" he laughed to himself, driving a little faster subconsciously.

"The first time I felt kinda sick, it was a really good feeling at first, they gave me vodka and it burned down my throat-"

"That's a good feeling?" Sakura asked, interrupting him, but the male shook his head and spared her a tiny look.

"No, that hurt, but after wards it felt really good, like I felt my brain turn off, and for a while, it felt like I was dizzy, and it was really wonderful. I was fine with one drink; but then this girl; she went to school with me, she offered me some more; so you know, take it, it feels good. So I drank with them all for a while, but then I got this crazy queasy feeling in my stomach, and that same girl who had given me more drinks, she was concerned and came up, asking if I was okay. I opened my mouth to tell her yea, but I puked all over her."

Sakura's face cringed then, imagining the pretty boy beside her vomiting all over some girl. "Well you better not throw up on me." The pinkette stated clearly, crossing her arms playfully.

The male threw her a look, his tongue sticking out at her. "I won't. It was the only time I threw up after drinking, I got used to it; I can hold it better now." The girl nodded at him, saying a small 'I see'. The boy looked at her again, and then opened his mouth. "You're turn."

Sakura paused, wondering what to say. It was odd trying to find some sort of life story to just tell someone. Like trying to be funny on the spot, or attempting to make one feel better on demand. It made you feel at a loss for words, unsure of what story to tell, or even if you remember it correctly. "Um…"

The male let the girl think as they broke out of the thicker trees; and he didn't push her when it took her almost ten minutes to open her mouth again. But when she did, she shut it. Sasuke had the car going around and up the mall's parking garage. Up on the side hills that they had driven through, and up the concrete roads; here they were. Up on top of the largest hill in the entire city, above the lights, the houses, and the cars. Here was where the mall stood, with a movie theater, and a few other scattered fast food places. Here was where he had taken her.

Sasuke maneuvered the car up through the different levels until he reached the top; and almost delicately, he parked his Corvette, gently pulling into the parking space.

He grinned at her as he clutched and threw the shifter into park before turning the keys and killing the engine. "Well, never mind, we're here, but you'll tell me something at some point." He moved to get out of the car, getting ready to unfurl his long legs after he popped open the door, but then he paused, thought for a minute before turning to her and saying: "Close your eyes."

The girl looked at him skeptically, a light eyebrow rose. "Why?" she asked quietly. "I mean, I more or less know where we are."

"It's a surprise, of course." He shook his head at her. "Come on Sakura," he gave her an adorable grin, one of the lopsided ones he seemed to save and use at moments like these. "Please do it for me?" she was about to speak but he continued before she could try. "You did say you trusted me."

The female thought for a second, wondering if she had placed trust in the wrong person. But the few moments she sat there and watched him in silence, she knew he wasn't going to do anything to hurt her. Her guts were still telling her that. "Promise you'll take care of me?" She murmured, watching him with brilliant green eyes.

"Always." He said it just as quietly, meeting her eyes with is onyx ones as he spoke the single word. And so she complied. Shutting her pretty emerald eyes, she heard him open his door and get out. There were a handful of silent heart beats, a small ounce of fear rising in her chest before she heard Sasuke open her door. A tiny gust of wind danced in from the now open doorway and it blew across her skin, making her shiver for a moment. "Just step out like you would normally." he said softly; his hand gently meeting her wrist, moving to hold her palm as she extracted herself from the seat.

"Okay," she said, doing as she was told. He directed her a few more times before he told her to stop.

"I dunno how special this will be for you," Sasuke started quietly, still holding onto her hand, barely a ghost of a touch against her skin, as if he were afraid the mere contact would scare her away. "But, I love this place. It makes everything here worth it. So you can open your eyes now."

And she did. The lime pools were met with a spectacular show of lights. The city was lying low before them, like a beast nestled in its bed, lying in wait for day to break to start the bustle all over again. Car lights flashed along hidden streets; signs were illuminated with iridescent colors; homes and apartments were also winking at them with warm glows. Moonlight reflected and refracted off of windows and metal; it danced like living breathing stars.

There were some darker spaces still between the brilliant lights. Black spaces, where the roads and small towns didn't lace quite close enough. These spaces didn't demand street lights, and when cars rode through them, their lights looked lost. As if a few stray fireflies had fallen behind the rest of their families.

"It's like a giant group of lightening bugs," the girl exclaimed, feeling breathless. She turned her face to look at him. "It's beautiful." She grinned, "Really, it is."

The male dropped his fingers from her hand when Sakura walked closer to the concrete ledge, resting her elbows on it; she continued to look out at the city. The light gleamed back at her, reflecting in her eyes as she watched. Sasuke stepped up beside her, letting his arms rest on the concrete too. It was rough and even though it was a little painful, he liked standing by the girl, so he wouldn't let it bother him.

"How did you find this place?" the girl turned her brilliant green eyes on him. "Like, I know it's the mall's parking garage, but why did you come here at night?"

Sasuke folded his hands, and kicked a little at the concrete. He had half a smile on his face. "My brother always brought me here." He was half uncomfortable telling her, he didn't like talking about his brother. He didn't really like discussing his _life. _But somehow she made it okay. "He would take me here when he was upset. Itatchi didn't like being home with me, but he didn't like being alone either, so he'd take me when he came here. It was just like his refuge, and I guess it became mine too."

Sakura nodded, pink hair fanning some in the slight breeze, still watching the stars and the lights. "Were you and your brother close?"

The male smirked some, "Not my turn, yours again." That earned him an odd look from the young woman. "And please don't just say 'Um' and not ever say anything." He said it sweetly, meeting her eyes when he spoke. "I want to know something about you." He said softly.

She had a soft look come over her face, lips forming a small oh, and her eyes went and met with his. "Like what?" she questioned him. "I'm really not that special." The boy gave her a skeptical look and blushing, she opened her mouth, to tell him something trivial, like that she was an only child. But something much different fell out.

"I never really had a refuge," the girl blurted, still watching the ever changing scene below them. "The closest I ever come is when I act." She saw the boy nod from the corner of her peripheral vision, encouraging her to go on. "It's like, when you watch movies, you feel like you're not yourself anymore, but like you're there. That's what acting is like to me, it's like my vice."

"Do you act all the time?" Sasuke asked. "Like is this Sakura, Sakura?"

The girl nodded, understanding exactly what he was asking. "Yea, I act a lot, but no, this is me me."

He smiled that cute smile again, and Sakura felt her heart beat fluctuate. This boy really was pretty. Lips and eyes and hair, there was a lot of physical positives to add to his attitude. He seemed to be an honestly gorgeous person. Physically but mentally too.

She really wanted to take his hand. What was this, third or fourth meeting? It was strange, she didn't usually act like that; never wanting to just be with someone and hold their hands, not when she didn't know them well. But this boy? She just wanted to be closer to him.

And it was weird because she found herself telling him things she hadn't told anyone. Like how she faked her 'love' of partying even though she really despised it, about her love for stars. She exposed how she acted all the time, that that was her get away.

He made her think things she hadn't thought about in years. Of herself and what she really wanted someday, what she was looking for… who she was looking for. She already felt like she knew him, like they were best friends, but this was the only real conversation they had. Sure, they had met a few times; they had messaged each other on Facebook; had a handful of conversations via texting; but that was different. It wasn't face to face, those weren't as personal.

But this? Sitting on top of a concrete parking garage, smoking cigarettes and watching the city lights sparkle, talking like they had known each other for years… This was different. This was something wonderful, something the girl had never expected to happen; and something she terribly wanted to do again.

She peeked over at him for a moment, watching how he smiled as he recalled the story he was currently telling her. Of how he and his best friend ran away once.

"We really didn't even go far," he inhaled on the burning stick before exhaling smoke. "We walked to the edge of the city, for like, two hours we just walked. And by the time we got to where we thought we wanted to be, we were tired, hungry, and felt disgusting. So I just called my brother and he came and got us." The male's black eyes danced up to the stars once more. "We never even told our parents," he smiled again. "My mom would probably still be upset about it if we told her."

Sakura smiled with him, liking that he told her these things. Stories were the best. They could be shared and learned, it was something that made people grow together. Made people become closer, made them understand each other more. She loved stories, and she especially loved his.

She threw her butt down on the ground, stomping on it to make sure the ember was dead before letting her eyes travel to the swirling lights and colors below them. "I never tried to run away," she murmured, tucking a piece of her strawberry hair behind an ear. "I wanted to a few times but I never grew the balls to try." She grinned at him. "So you're already a step up over me."

Sasuke shook his head. "Nah," he laughed. "I was born with gonads, girls have to try and grow their own."

The pair chuckled a little, falling silent soon after. The lull was calm though. Neither raced for more to say, though each heartbeat throbbed a little faster.

He looked at her then. They were so close that the ember of his cigarette lit up her pale face a little in the darkness. "Can I ask what you wish for?" she turned and let her gaze fall on him then and he quickly edited himself. "I-I mean, I'm just curious, I'll tell you what I'd wish for if you tell me what you wish for."

The sweet girl thought about it for a little, wondering if it would be okay to tell him. "You'll think I'm an idiot." She murmured the tobacco between the boy's lips burnt away as she sat there quietly.

"I told you that I can't sleep because I think too much, and I told you how I puked on a girl because I drank too much." He looked at her honestly. "I won't think it's stupid." The girl's light eyebrows rose when he said the words and her lips pursed just barely, the most obviously doubtful face, he grinned at her before letting his face fall back to seriousness. "I promise." He said earnestly. "I won't, and I'll tell you what I wish for."

She gave a small laugh, as if she couldn't believe she was actually telling him, but she opened her cute lips and spoke. "I just want everything to go well," she smiled. "Like, I try not to ask for specific things, cause then I feel selfish, because what right do I have, you know?" her eyes fell to him for a second before running back to the iridescent scene below her. "But I just ask that everything, in general, in my life goes well, and how it's supposed to." She rummaged around in her purse, dug out a red Sharpie before throwing it back in, and pushing around other items, finally finding her cigarette box. It had a red heart drawn on it, from the Sharpie. She pulled one out and held it between her fingertips.

"You never wish for something specific?"

He knew he was pushing her but he just found her so interesting. Sakura blushed, lifting the newly lit cigarette to her mouth, inhaling and stalling at the same time. "I have before, but I try not to."

"When you wish for something specific, what do you wish for?" she gave him a look, a single eyebrow raised. He blew his smoke away from her before smiling at her. "I just want to know more about you."

She glanced away from him, feeling herself blush a bit more at his words. "I wish to find the person I'm supposed to be with, or have my dream of becoming a famous actress come true."

He nodded. "I wish for my significant other too." They shared a look for only a handful of heartbeats before they both looked away. "And I wish that I could give my mother everything she ever wanted."

"Just because she's your mom, or because bad stuff happened. Y-you don't have to tell m-"

Sasuke shook his head. "She went through a lot of shit with my dad when I was younger, and I just wish she was happier, you know?" the petite female beside him nodded.

"I know." She looked at him shyly again, wondering what all this pretty, young man had gone through so far in his life. "You want to know another one of my secrets?" she asked. She was getting a different feeling now, like she wanted to confide in him, to tell him all of her secrets, wishes, and fears. He seemed trustworthy.

"Yes." He said gently and quietly. She wasn't sure when they had started whispering, as if their conversation was becoming too personal for even the wind to hear.

"I'm always waiting for something spectacular to happen." The boy looked at the girl and wondered how broken she was, and if she felt like he did. Like he was alone in a broken dying world, just waiting for some brilliant light to come and save him. Sakura grinned. "I've just been waiting for something or someone amazing to walk into my life. Because everything is the same, and everything is boring. I need someone spectacular. And I know I'll have to find it soon."

It was now or never. He was tired of his heart aching and begging him to hold her hand, to bring her as close to him as he physically could. So relying on the gonads he was born with, he reached the few inches over to her hand, and entwined his long slender fingers through her smaller, slim ones.

He heard the small gasp of breath escape from her lungs, and he worried if she had wanted to hold his hand at all. But then he felt her small fingers tighten around his hand, and he grinned inwardly to himself, pleased that she responded happily. The girl fell silent then, not diverging any more secrets, but not demanding him tell her one. They sat in silence, still watching the sleeping city, waiting for light, waiting for something to break the silence. Because neither of them wanted to ruin the moment.

He ran his thumb over the soft skin of her hand. It was so breathtaking, just the feeling of her hand in his. He really did want to protect her, till the end of the world. "Can I see that red Sharpie you had earlier?"

Sakura gave him a tiny look, signature raised questioning eyebrow, but she nodded, pulling her hand gently from his and rifling through her purse once more, searching for the marker. When she retrieved it, she let her bag lay half open on the concrete ground beside her. "Here," she said softly, holding the desired object out to the male. She grinned. "I bought that to come see you."

"Thanks," he said softly before he smiled at her. "I sort of thought you did." He stuck his tongue out before reaching for the girl's fingers again.

He took her hand in his left, the red Sharpie in his right, and after smiling at her; he turned his attention to the delicate thing in his hands and began to write.

"What're you doing?" the girl asked, but the male didn't answer, simply sat and continued to write whatever it was he was writing. When he was done, the sun was still coming up from behind them, the light casting everything into a pale orange glow. The light refracted off of windows and car paint, the dizzying array of reflections from the night before weren't quite dead yet.

He met her eyes for a moment, as he was trying to recap the marker in his hands. Her make-up was a little smeared, simply from wear. And her hair wasn't perfectly placed as it had been when he first saw her, now it was thrown into a messy pony tail; some strands falling and framing her face, mixing with the bangs that still fell over her forehead. Clothes were a little wrinkled, and there were fresh black bags under her eyes, but she was still so damn gorgeous. The way she smiled was just as breathtaking and how she laughed rang in his ears like the most beautiful bells.

He finally was able to recap the Sharpie and with a small smile he tossed it into her still open purse. He pulled another cigarette from his pack and lit it as she read her hand.

_'I know I'm nothing but skin and bones, but I sure think you're beautiful.'_

Her pretty emerald eyes widened when she looked up at him suddenly, the sun let him see the lovely blush that was now crawling up her neck. "I do." He said softly, exhaling the smoke he had breathed in, grinning at her still.

The smile that took her face made his heart beat irregularly once more. He decided if he never got used to the way his heart acted around her, he would be fine with it. It was a wonderful feeling, his heart reacting to her so drastically. "I think you're beautiful too." She murmured, letting herself lean against him and entwining their fingers once more.

The male's eyes widened then, surprised at her words and her actions. But after a hesitant second, he let his fingers lace with hers as well, holding her elegant hand to his. He liked the feeling of her leaning against him. It was sweet, and innocent, something that didn't ask for sex, something that didn't make him think of sex; and for some unknown reason, it made him like the small act even more.

His heart ached harder in his chest when he unlaced his fingers from hers; wrapping the arm closest to her, around her slim side; and he took her now cold fingers into his opposite hand. She nuzzled closer to him then, nestling her head into the crook of his neck.

"I could probably fall asleep right now." Sakura said softly, and the male could feel her breaths warm the black fabric that lay over his chest.

"Go ahead." He replied, "I won't let you fall."

Sakura grinned to herself and let out a small 'I know.' She exhaled and let herself rest against him, leaning on this boy more and more for support. She was almost sound asleep when she heard her phone go off in her purse, causing her heart as well as her body to jump a little in the male's arms.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, rubbing an eye and reaching into her purse. She pulled out the silver thing and flipped it open, immediately a voice screamed over the speaker into her ear. "Ino, Ino, calm down, I'm fine, I'm with Sasuke. Yes, the guy from the convenience store. No, we didn't have sex, what's wrong with you? I'm fine, I'm safe. What time, shit, it's already 8?" she pivoted, still rubbing an eye. "Yea, I'll see you soon. I'm sorry I scared you. Love you too Ino, bye."

Sasuke snickered a little after the conversation ended. "Ino is the blonde?"

Sakura nodded. "Sisterly, motherly, goofy Ino." She smiled. "She was worried because she just realized she hadn't seen me at all last night. Um, do you think you could drive me back? She said she'd pick me up bu-"

The boy grinned. "No, that's fine, I can take you." He stood then and stretched a little, his black shirt lifting and the girl could see some of his stomach. His soft but strong looking, pale white stomach. Her green eyes traveled up then, noticing the black piercing in his navel. Blushing she averted her eyes from him until he lowered his arms and covered his blush-worthy skin.

He looked different in the light, not as filled with shadows, not as dark. Dim, yes, but brilliant too. Like he shone through the blackness he wore. She took all of him in then, for the first time since she noticed him staring at her the night before. He had on black skinny jeans that hugged his legs, stuffed into black high tops. His shirt was black too except for the white lettering.

**Drop Love Not Bombs**

Was written in thick white letters on his shirt. Sakura looked at him for a moment, meeting his eyes in silence. "I really like that." She said softly, lifting a hand and pointing at his shirt. "I didn't really notice till now."

"Yes, because at night it all blended in with the dark." He took her hand and smirked at her. "Let's go now okay?" she nodded at him, still at a loss for words, letting him lead her back to his car.

He was beautiful, and funny, and for some reason, he had trusted her with secrets of his own. He was wonderful and glorious. He even drove sweetly. Not speeding or driving awkwardly between the lines. His car just seemed to glide around the turns, humming down the road at a pretty speed.

He drove them back down through the mountains, Sakura could see the trees now that the sun was up, see how they blended and danced together. She saw the water trickling below too, and she smiled to herself, only in this city would they put a mall complex right in the middle of all the nature.

They were back to the house within minutes; it seemed like a much shorter drive in the daytime. Ino was waiting there by her yellow car, purse hanging on her arm, a mirror in one hand, lipstick in the other, tracing around her full lips. "Sakura!" the blonde jumped when she saw her pink haired friend come up in the burnt orange car. "Sakura!"

Said girl raised a hand to wave at her friend, acknowledging her but she turned to Sasuke regardless, as he waited, letting the engine idle for the few moments of quiet breathing. "Well, um," Sakura smiled at him. "Thank you, that was really, well." Her green eyes glanced down at her hand, the one that had red in all over it, spelling out gorgeous words she had to remember. "Really fantastically awesome." The male grinned back at her, nodding his head.

"Definitely fantastically awesome, though I think the mall cleaning people are gonna be pissed, cause that was a pretty high pile of cigarette butts we left up there."

Sakura smiled and giggled a little at him. It was still so weird, because she felt like she'd miss him a lot, and, well, she still didn't really know him. "I should prob-"

"I'll call you okay?" he said softly, giving her a small grin; another one he seemed to save for special moments, to show who he actually was. The girl nodded at him, and smiled back, she was about to open the door, but the male laid his hand on hers for a second and she stopped. Turning back to face him, her eyes widened because he was closing the distance between them, and his lips pressed quickly against her forehead.

She noticed his blush when he pulled away but he smiled all the same. "I'll talk to you later." She nodded and carefully pushed open the car door, really not wanting to leave but she knew they both had to.

He waved at her once as he back up out of the driveway again, and she waved to him after he got onto the road. Before she knew it, he was driving away.

"That was Sasuke?" Ino asked. Her voice was bright and cheery, regardless of how late she actually stayed up the night before.

Sakura was quiet for a moment, the difference between the two was almost obnoxious, but it wasn't her friends fault. "Yes." The blonde asked a few questions about her friend's night, but dropped it when Sakura didn't launch off into a detail oriented narrative of her evening. Ino nodded once before she started to ramble out a story about something funny that had happened while she was gone. About another friend falling, or something of the sort, but Sakura wasn't really listening.

She was thinking, about how she might not have to look for that wonderful spectacular thing anymore. That maybe the thing she had been searching for and wishing for just walked into her life.

_x. o. x. o._

Okay, so yes, that's done now, I know I took forever to update this line of stories, I know, and I really do feel bad, I just, I'm not sure what happened. I started this back in April-ish, and I just now finished it, so let me know what you all think; love it, hate it, whatever, I'd just love to get some feedback (:

Also gonna throw it out there that '_I know I''m nothing but skin and bones but I sure think you're beautiful'_ comes from Romance On A Rocketship's song '**Skin and Bones'** its really cute, you guys should go listen (:

I'm also planning to try and update more frequently, with school being out and such; so we'll see I suppose; also as a note, I have been working on 'the last days', 'marionette', and my other stories, just pre-writing now though, so we'll see what happens

Thank you all for reading; leave a review if you'd be so kind, and I'll hopefully see you soon

peace,

a. rose. love.


	15. cooties

So haha, yea really short; but I was half bored, and the thought had been nagging at me for about a day so I decided to let it loose before I lose it haha. But alright; it's different than my norm; tell me what you think please (:

Story please. I don't own Naruto.

_Cooties._

* * *

I remember the day I fell in love with him. Like it were yesterday; or as if it had legitimately happened two seconds ago. But in the real world, in reality; it happened almost nineteen years ago.

It had been when we were five, in kindergarten. My hair had still been strawberry blonde instead of pink, and boys still had cooties.

Cooties that had been terribly infectious.

I remember it was a Friday; because mom promised to take me to the zoo the next day. I remember playing in the sandbox, and I had the best castle built. It was huge and so complex, with like three floors and doorways, like everything. It was especially impressive because I was only five. But then, while I was still working on this awesome castle, this other group of kids came over. They made fun of my name, yelled about cooties (yes, they were boys, of course) and then they jumped all over the sandcastle.

_My_ awesome sandcastle. They ruined it. I was so upset, I was about to start crying, because they were still there, calling me stupid and all sorts of other names, and I was shocked, I mean, come on, we were five. But then; this other boy came over. At this point I had sand all over me, tears and dirt in my eyes, I just wanted my mom and then to go home, I was also wondering somewhere in the back of my mind, where the hell the teacher was. And this is when, this other boy just randomly shows up.

He had this black hair, and his skin was pale, not like, gross dead skin pale; he was just fair-skinned. I don't remember exactly what happened, I started crying then, you see. But I do remember looking up and him being the only one left. He had the sweetest smile on his face, and a few scratches. I asked him what happened to the other boys and he said he took care of them.

I didn't understand at the time, but in reflection, I guess he beat them up. He reached a hand out to me, and I took it. He helped me up and held my hand for a few heartbeats after that before letting me go.

He had black eyes. Like I mean, darker than the blackest night; they were so dark. But they were lovely, and I couldn't imagine how he had gotten black eyes like that.

I told him I liked his eyes, and he blushed a little, only a young boy so he didn't care. And then he told me that he liked mine. He spoke his name softly, and then I told him mine.

He was a boy, yes, so maybe I was infected with the cooties; the cooties that made girls crazy about boys; the cooties that could destroy a person with twisted infatuation. But in reality; I simply fell in love with him.

When I turned thirteen, I was very excited. It meant that I was officially a teenager, and that meant (in my own mind at least) that I could date people. I wanted to date him. He was my best friend, we hung out, did projects together, laughed and we just really had fun. I wanted to be his girlfriend but I didn't ask, nor did I let on.

It's not even that I was smart for my age (even though I was) it was because my other best friend, Tenten, well she wanted to date him. She always said: _'Sakura, he's just so good looking; I just really want to be his girl.'_

I understood that, because I mean, damn, he was. He was gorgeous. I don't even mean feminine gorgeous either; he was just so beautiful. Masculine and caring, and gentle too. He was just perfect. When Tenten said that it legitimately broke my heart, but I mustered a smile for her and told her to go for it.

They dated for about a week, and then it was over.

I swore to myself that I would eventually have him, not to prove a point that I was better than Tenten or anyone else for that matter; I just loved him. I was 'man' enough to admit that to myself after my eighteenth birthday. He was there and I wanted to tell him that I liked him. He was only about eight months older than me, so I decided to just tell him. I didn't even get to open my mouth because right then, after everyone left the party and the fire was still crackling away in the fire-pit; he kissed me.

First just with his lips, and that was sweet, but then he used his tongue, and anything I had even tried to imagine for that moment hadn't prepared me in the least.

It was perfect; just like him, he was perfect at everything. He held my waist with one hand and cradled the back of my head with the other, swirling his tongue effortlessly against mine and breathed with me. It was insane and sane at the same time. Confusing but amazing and dizzying. It was perfection, and I can't explain that point enough.

I was his almost girl for about a year after that. The girl he always fell back to, the one he always talked to, the one he would kiss now and then; I was the first girl he said he loved.

It was wonderful, really; when he said those words. _'Sakura, I love you.'_ He said it one day when we were just hanging out. I think we were nineteen; watching cartoon network on a Tuesday; waiting for really anything to happen. And he just said it. As if for all those years, the fourteen years since I started loving him; he hadn't realized he loved me. And that was it. He said it, as if just realizing, as if he didn't already **know** that I had been madly in love with him for practically my whole life.

It made me warm, when he spoke that phrase. Down to my toes, I just hummed and some sort of happy energy was zinging through my blood. It made me want to kiss him; it made me want to do so much more than _just _kiss him. Because of those four words. He just tore my world wide open, and put himself even farther in the center of it. At that moment, he dictated himself king in my mind, and he didn't even know.

We started dating then; and he loved to hold my hand, keep it warm and safe in his. He liked kissing me too, on the cheek, on the top of my head, especially on my lips; and he would kiss me in other, more personal places. But we only did that sometimes.

I'd almost love to tell you all that we had a great falling out; that he slept with me, and then screwed me over. That he was an asshole who didn't give a shit about anything. I only almost want to tell you that to make this maybe a little more dramatic; keep your attention; because you know; only the bad things keep peoples' attention these days.

But we didn't. He didn't have sex with me either; and we didn't rip each other apart, or hate each other after a few weeks.

We actually got closer, a lot closer.

I'm twenty-four now, and I can't tell you how happy I am. He still loves to hold my hand, and he still makes me warm. He kisses me almost everywhere; and he really likes looking at the ring he put on my left ring finger. I notice him looking at that hand sometimes, that finger in specific; and he just has this beautiful smile on his face; one that lights up those black, black eyes; the kind that makes me want to smile right back at him.

After he looks at that little golden band, he looks me in the eye, and he tells me again, that he loves me. He tells me that he loves me to the end of the world, and that he'd do anything for me.

It still warms me down to my smallest toe.

The boy that gave me the cooties, who saved me when I was five, who saved me again; multiple times since then; the boy with the most beautiful black eyes.

Sasuke Uchiha.

I tell him I love him back.

* * *

_:} so uhm, yea lol let me know what you guys think. That's all for this one, love you guys (:_

_peace,_

_a. rose. love._


	16. brittle

I originally wrote this for my spring creative writing class for school, but I liked it, so I changed it and added a few things to it; I hope you all like it_ (:_

I don't own naruto.

Time for stories.

_Brittle._

He had the prettiest smile. The straightest white teeth, and the prettiest smile, even though he didn't always use it. He was more or less the shyest person. He would sit quietly, read over his music, line by line look at his lyrics, change them, read them, practice them, perfect them.

He had soft curling black hair that fell down to the bottoms of his gauged ears, and laid on his forehead to his onyx eyebrows. Here was where his most gorgeous feature started. His eyes. They were the most beautiful obsidian red. Deep black in the dark, darker than blood red in the light. They had red flecks in them, with black dots that shone. He was shy with his eyes too, casting them to the ground when the girls in class would talk to him.

He even spoke softly, his voice a deep baritone, low and mellow. When asked to answer a question, his ears burnt a little, and he stood, speaking his answer in that low voice, slate eyes hanging on his desk, mind not even on the work at hand. He was thinking about his music again, where to go, what to write, how it should go.

He wasn't bad at school, it just wasn't what he cared about. He had good enough grades, better than passing; he could go on to be something great. A doctor, or a lawyer. He could potentially go really quite far. But his music, that's what he wanted. Some would say it held him back, others would argue it gave him real truth; regardless, it was what he wanted, and so, that was what he did.

When he got on the stage, he was amazing. The shyness melted away with the stares from everyone in the room. He wore his guitar like a sword on his back, his weapon against life itself. It was how he held on, and how he expressed himself. No one else played with him. He would stand alone, under-aged in a club, feet shuffling slightly before his set started. Gorgeous red-black eyes wide as he waited for everyone to quiet down. When they did, he opened his pretty throat, and let the heart-achingly wonderful sounds out.

He sang of fears, and potential love. He sang of missing someone by his side, his voice cried out about a girl who would stand by him, even when the world melted to hell. He closed his eyes sometimes, letting the music flow out raw, sometimes changing a few chords as he went, realizing what sounded better every time he performed.

And then he would be done, leaving in the flurry of claps and applause, the noise still dying in his throat. Escaping through the back doors, taking his guitar, carrying it again like a sword on his back; and walked through the night and the darkness, back to his home.

He would fall into his bed, tired, warm, but greatly pleased. Happy about the start of his career, happy for the applause, glad to see everyone who came to see him. But every night, he would fall asleep wondering if that girl was there, the one he was always searching for, the one he might love.

He didn't know her face, but he always knew she was out there, he felt it in his bones, down to his marrow. He knew he'd find her someday, so he decided, until then, he would sing of her. Sing for her even though she didn't know, even though he didn't know her and she didn't know him.

The shyness would return for school the next morning. The quiet euphoria would wear off by the time he really needed it most. Hair curling, messy but cute at the same time. The girls would look at him, give him a smile, looking up at him because of his height advantage, and he'd smile a little, ears turning bright red. He didn't get the feeling with them. The feeling that he wanted to make music, that he wanted to love them, or hold their hands. They looked like they didn't care. They wanted him because he could sing, not for his message.

Everyday the same. The quiet boy, answering questions correctly even though he never paid attention. The prettiest girls smiling at him, because of his skill, not because of _him_. The shyest boy becoming like a god on stage later that night, singing beautifully, midnight eyes closed as the melody flowed from his strong throat, through and out of his lungs. Guitar like a weapon of destruction and life, fingers pushing against the frets, other slender fingers plucking the strings; making it talk, making it sing as strongly as the boy did.

The stage was his home, he felt like he didn't belong anywhere but. It was confidence on stage, it was love on stage. It was magical and worth all the time and effort. And someday, he'd find the girl who felt as wonderful off of the stage as it did to be on it.

_x. o. x. o._

She saw him perform one night. She had crept into the club that night, used her fake I.D. Got some booze and drank whatever stress away, for a moment, for a minute, for however long the alcohol decided to stay. She hated her life, she hated herself, and she especially hated him.

How he pushed her and picked at her. How he hit her. How he abused her.

But when she saw _him._ The other one, the one who sang onstage, with black-red eyes and a guitar. Some how, that kid, that teenager, he spoke to her. When she listened to him, it was like they were the only two in the room. Like no one else was there. Like there wasn't another boy she had to go home to, like she wasn't only seventeen and in an abusive relationship.

The first night she saw him, she just got this feeling. Her cheek ached from where she had been hit, her arm hurt too. And she was about to down a beer. She had had the cup lifted to her lips, every intention on not remembering anything that happened that day, or that night. But she heard the microphone give soft feedback for a moment, and it caught her attention.

And there he was, that pretty boy. The prettiest boy she had ever seen. He was skinny, and beautiful, his wrists were slender and his fingers long. He held his guitar as if it were his lover, and he knew exactly how to touch her.

The instrument sounded just right, moaned and sang as his fingertips ran over her strings. And then he started to sing.

That made everything on the radio sound like shit, it made everything _everywhere_ sound like shit. He sang like no one she had ever heard before. It was breathtaking. How he could make his voice _do_ that. How it moved up and down, how his words flowed together. The pronunciation, the melody, the beat and the transitions. It was wondrous.

It made her forget about the alcohol she held in her fingers, forget how she had an enormous black mark blossoming on her cheek. It made her focus on him, on the love he put into his lyrics, on the love he was trying to create, and make. The love he was searching for and dreaming about.

He was singing for her, she knew it. She felt it.

Her gut just jumped, leaped and flew in her stomach, making her feel sick with butterflies and giddiness. She would talk to him, she decided, because she felt like some day, she would know him inside and out.

But she turned after his set was over, raced out of the club, ran to the door, trying to catch him. But he was gone. All she saw was his guitar on his back, and his feet shuffling as he made his way home. He was gone, and the music he made was already starting to fade, no matter how astonishing it was, the problems were pushing in.

The abuse, the alcohol, the thoughts. The fucking thinking.

It crashed back in after he was gone, and she was afraid.

_x. o. x. o._

He had new lyrics on the tip of his tongue, and he was singing again. To whoever was in the club, to whatever girls were there gushing over him. To whoever the hell cared to listen. He took a chance to open his red-black eyes, and he saw her. A girl with bright pink hair. It looked electric and it sent something like electricity into his veins. He could feel how his eyes widened, how his heart lurched, and he almost stumbled over a lyric. Almost stumbled over a word, over a vowel, to be more precise.

_Almost._

She was the only thing that really stood out in the crowd, everyone else blended together in the shadow like dimness. The hair was a give away, and he wondered if he had accidentally glazed over her before. He shut his eyes tightly then, afraid that if he would continue to look at her, he would lose track, and start singing something else completely.

He decided to stay after that night. He had just turned eighteen a few days before, and he was a little tired of leaving immediately after. He wanted to know what people thought. What they thought of his music, of his voice. He wondered if always leaving would put his career at risk.

Singing and then escaping could only take you so far.

So he walked to his car, the one he had taken on a whim, and put his guitar in the trunk, looking around to make sure the only people who saw was himself and the couple making out a block over. He was always a little paranoid, but his guitar was everything, and he didn't have enough money to buy a new one if the need would suddenly arise.

When he turned again, intent on returning to the club, to meander through, talk some music smack with someone who wasn't completely smashed; he saw pink again.

But she wasn't in front of him. She was pressed against the wall of the club, with some other boy pinning her there. A boy with sandy brown hair. He thought nothing of it, his mind about to return to his music, when he saw that brown haired male raise his arms, and slam the girl against the wall. The _petite, _skeleton-thin, pink haired girl.

He heard a noise escape through her mouth and before he knew what he was doing, he realized he was headed towards that brown haired male. The female was crying, tears coming out of the pretty bottle green eyes she had, her cheek already bruised.

"You dumb fuck, you think you could get away from this? From _me?_" he raised his hand again.

"I'm sorry!" she whimpered. "Please don'-"

There was another swift movement and a sick cracking sound went with it when her head hit off of the brick wall.

The black haired boy swallowed before opening his mouth. Being shy sucked. "H-hey-"

"Listen, bud," that was the brown haired one. "I honestly don't give a shit what you're about to say, so why don't you just walk along, and ignore whatever you think you're seeing. I'm just having a little talk with my girl here, so you can just keep going."

"Man, leave her alone." he felt his heart beat funny in his chest, and he got a bad feeling in his gut. "She's like four times smaller than you are, give her a break."

"I said keep going bu-"

"And I'm telling you to leave her the hell alone."

Black-red eyes met caramel ones and he swallowed again and got ready in the few seconds he had. The other boy's fist came flying at him, the small girl fell and her legs curled up to her head, trying to protect herself.

There were only a few more punches thrown then. A hit and return punch from the singer, and an attempt by the other to knock him out. But with a final punch, and a kick, the black haired teenager made the other start running.

He looked at the girl then. The one with pretty pink hair and the bright green eyes he had only seen for an instant. "Hey." he said quietly, leaning down to her and biting his lip. "Girl, hey, he's gone. Whoever the hell he is, don't worry about it," she uncurled herself slowly, before sitting up. "He's gone." She still had tears running over her cheeks and there was a nasty purple bruise starting on her.

_x. o. x. o._

It took her a moment to realize who was talking to her. Maybe her boyfriend, not boyfriend, was right. She was a dumb fuck. She hadn't even realized it was _him._

The gorgeous boy who stole her heart and he didn't even know. He helped her, he probably saved her. She couldn't stop crying. She desperately wanted to, wanted to tell her eyes to just stop. To stop crying and thank him properly, to tell him that she thought his music was amazing, that he was strong, and to promise he'd find whatever girl he was looking for.

And that maybe, if he was interested, she wanted to see if he really did know how to touch a girl to make her moan like he did his guitar.

In all this thinking, the racing thoughts and the unsureness behind them. The hesitation, she hadn't noticed that she was leaning on his shoulder and crying into him. He was firm, but comfortably so. And he smelled good, like cigarettes and rainstorms.

He continued to hold her, an arm resting around her back, holding her to him. As if he were used to strange girls crying into his shoulder, like he did this sort of a thing everyday. He didn't speak either, which kind of helped, cause what was he supposed to say, you know? But it left her with her thoughts, and her thoughts were more dangerous than any boy's fists.

They would poison her, and kill her.

She sniffed and pulled away a little, wondering why the hell he would do this for a complete stranger. "Sing to me?" she asked softly, and her voice sounded weird to her own ears. How it cracked and how hollow it sounded. It was like it wasn't even her voice at all.

He looked at her, and that request did earn a little bit of a questioning look. "What?" he asked softly, keeping his voice low and speaking to her almost sweetly. His eyes were so close to her now, and she saw them clearly. The blood-like flecks and the black stone-looking dots. His eyes were beautiful.

She swallowed and tried to clear her throat, so she didn't sound so strange. "Would you sing to me? Music helps... this." she made a small motion, waving a thin hand in the air, and the boy got the impression that 'this' sort of thing happened way more than it ever should. He nodded then, and told her to stand if she could.

_x. o. x. o._

She could, and she followed him over to his car. He opened the door for her and then went to the trunk, and took out the guitar-sword. He sat on the ground in front of her, giving her room away from him, but still close enough that she could reach out if she needed.

She was so tiny, he could see where her shoulders married with her collarbone. And he knew, had she (for some reason) had her shirt off, he would be able to count every rib in her rib cage, and if she would lay down, he could watch her heart pulsing through her stomach. She gave him a small smile when he started plucking at the strings, and he wondered how many times she had to escape this fucked up reality a day.

"Thank you," she murmured as he played. He sang her the sweetest song he had ever wrote, meeting her eyes every now and then, wondering what she was feeling, and who she was.

His voice was sweet, and thick, like a good blanket when you're sick. And it wrapped around her, and held her close, almost like he were caressing her from a foot away. He sang the whole song, then started into another as she sat there. She felt safe there with him.

"Can I ask you something?" he said quietly, still pressing his long fingers against the frets. She nodded to him, glad that he didn't completely quit playing. "Who are you?"

She was surprised it wasn't a more personal question. Along the lines of 'why was that boy hitting you? Are you really a dumb fuck? What the hell's wrong with you? Why are you even here?' but this question, the one he really had asked her, it was so nice compared to all the others her brain threw at her.

"I'm Sakura." she said softly. "I'm seventeen, I-i..." she wasn't sure what else to say. Who _was _she. She wasn't like everyone else. She did know that. And she knew her name, what kind of shit she went through. But how do you explain all the mistakes you've made for the past three years to someone you just met? To some one you look up to, to someone you desperately want to know? "Who are you?" she replied quietly.

"My name is Sasuke." he pulled a few strings and gave her a soft look. "I just turned eighteen, like four days ago. I like your hair." he complimented her and immediately dropped his slate eyes from her, as if he were embarrassed by his words. "It's really pretty." his eyes were still on the ground, so they missed the tiny smile she gave him back.

"I like yours too." she reached out and touched one of the slightly curled black strands. "Thank you, Sasuke. For saving me." she still felt like there were tears coming from the corners of her eyes and when she wiped them, she was a little surprised to see that there were.

Normally on nights like these, she'd already be completely smashed somewhere.

She had started dabbling in drugs to try to get the brown haired boy out of her head.

She never realized he made her cry this much.

They sat in silence for a little, the only noise was the occasional passing vehicle and the strumming of the male. "I-i tried to talk to you a few weeks ago when I heard you for the first time. You're amazing. The lyrics, your songs, your voice, your guitar." She gave him a small smile again, wanting to tell him everything before he disappeared away from her, like the first night she saw him. "And you'll find her. The one you're singing about. If you haven't already, I promise you'll find her. And she'll be perfect for you."

"Is he perfect for you?" Sasuke said, nodding towards the area they had just come from. "Why would you tell me that I'll find someone perfect when you stay with someone like him?"

The girl was a little taken aback at the bluntness of the question and she couldn't speak for a moment, not knowing the real answer herself. "I don't know." she said softly. "Maybe I do deserve it."

The male shook his head immediately. "I don't care who you are or what you've done. No one deserves that. Especially not you."

"Why not me?" the pink haired girl asked gently. Her throat still felt weirdly thick, like she had taken too much cough syrup and couldn't swallow it all down.

He stayed quiet, head swaying a little, as he shut his beautiful eyes and listened to what he was playing. "Just a crazy-deep gut feeling, that's all." He gave a small laugh. "I know it sounds creepy, and kinda dumb, but I have, this stupid inkling that I'm going to know you very well. And the same one is telling me that you deserve so much more than that shithead and whatever kind of life you're living right now because of him."

_x. o. x. o._

Hope you guys liked it, see you soon (: leave a review please, it'd be greatly appreciated

_peace,_

_a. rose. love_


	17. just one night

Hey guys. (: um yea, I know its taking me a while to update stuff (and I don't mean just this story) just kind of everything in general. I've been feeling kinda emotionally drained. Not really even from something that's going on in my life, but maybe more of lack of things going on in my life? Plus my summer job bites and it sucks inspiration/ motivation out of me. Howeverrr, its almost over so I'm excited to write somemore :D

I want to thank all the people who reviewed on the last chapter, almost to 50 reviews woooott!xD so thank you to all of you who reviews and all of you who are currently reading :}  
I do not own Naruto.

Onto the storie

* * *

_Just One Night._

"Sasuke," she looked up at him with bright moss eyes, they were wide and lovely, but they held an ounce of fear. "Please, just give me one night, and I promise, after everything is over, after the sun rises," she glanced away from him before looking back. "I promise I'll let it go back to the way it was before, I'll be happy… Sasuke-kun please," she stepped closer to him, wrapping her thin arms around his stomach. She was shaking, and he could feel it, the trembling ripples entering into his own body. "Please just give me one night." She held him tightly, not wanting to let go. He was the only thing left, the only person to try and hold onto.

He felt something inside of him roll over with that pet name. _Sasuke-kun._ She hadn't called him that in years. And he hadn't known he missed it until she just used it.

It barely took a second for the word to come out of his mouth. "Okay." It was murmured, almost whispered. It took another whole second to wrap his arms around the girl's slim waist. That was something he wasn't used to. Someone being that close to him, someone in his breathing space, someone so warm against his body. "Come on, Sakura." He backed away a little, and entwined their fingers. It was just one night.

One night could change everything. It could kill your best friend. It could kill your parents. It could wipe out almost an entire village. It could ruin your life, or make your life.

'_There has to be something other than sadness left.'_ He thought silently to himself, pulling the pink haired girl along with him. There had to be something besides tears of a lost best friend and family long dead. Something other than ashes left of buildings and gleaming remains of shattered glass window panes.

"One night." He said the words softly, as if he was reminding himself of what he just agreed to. "It can be whatever you want, Sakura."

He wanted to make her happy. Remind her that there wasn't just death and pain left. Even if, for so long, he had caused her all of that pain.

He glanced down at her with soot eyes, watching to see if anything shone out of her like it used to. Her personality used to sparkle, it used to blind.

But so much had happened. So much had _changed._ Sasuke was afraid she would never be the same girl again.

He was still watching her when she looked up and almost smiled at him. It was the smallest ghost of a grin. The corners of her mouth barely turned up, and her eyes didn't gleam with happiness. They were gleaming with unused tears. Ones that could start pouring at any second.

_x.o.x.o_

They made their way silently through the wreckage. Past the broken windows and cracked stones. Past bloody stoops and the heaps of bodies in the alleys.

They were the only two left in all of Konoha as far as they knew. It had happened so quickly. The attack. The Akatsuki returning eight months after they were almost defeated. Eight months after they killed the blond member of Team Seven.

They had returned. Stronger and angrier than ever. With the power of the nine-tails. With a promise about to be kept sitting heavy in the air. They attacked, and killed, and destroyed. Without a care or second thought.

'_I promise I'll let it go back to the way it was before, I'll be happy… Sasuke-kun please.'_

Back to before. **Before.** Before what? When was that?

Before Naruto was killed by the Akatsuki? Before Sasuke himself had fled to Orochimaru?

Did she mean back the whole way to when they were kids? When she said she loved him every day and she would share the lunch her mother packed?

When was this before? What did she mean?

Because he was confused. None of those befores were the kind he wanted. He didn't want her to fake happiness. She wasn't the same after Naruto died. It had been months, eight, to be exact, and she still cried. Cried as if he was still dying in her arms and her chakra was too depleted to even attempt to try to heal him.

Happiness previous to that may have been possible. Naruto was alive, they were best friends. He was like her brother, but she had always loved Sasuke. And for the longest time, that ripped them all apart.

Before that, she still wasn't happy. Sasuke had left her to gain power. To gain a power that was never truly there. He chased after something that didn't exist, and he broke her heart when he did.

Maybe she meant before when they were children. When the problems in the village and in the world didn't _really_ mean them. When those things were just tiny dots on the radar, because it didn't affect them like it would now. Maybe that was when she was happiest.

But they couldn't resort to once again being children. There was far too much to deal with; far too much they had seen. You can't take back things like that. Things like death and fighting. You can't regain your lost innocence.

Sasuke didn't want before. He wanted whatever happened after.

_x. o. x. o._

She was lying on his bed, in his arms. Her electric pink hair a mess, her make-up smeared, clothes rumbled. But he knew he looked the same way. His hair was ruffled, his clothes wrinkled. But she… that girl was beautiful. Emerald eyes closed, skin so close to him. He desperately wanted to run his fingers over her arms again. He already had, multiple times, and every time he did, she smiled and kissed him.

Kissed his lips, and his neck. She took his fingers and kissed along them as well, mumbling how much she loved him as she did. Her lips were smooth and damp against the small amount of his flesh she had kissed. But they felt wonderful.

She was leaning against him, and he could feel her breathing. Her chest pressing closer to his as she inhaled and how it backed away as she exhaled. Sleeping against him. Her hair tickled his neck when she stirred a little, trying to make her position more comfortable for herself. It was a delicious feeling, someone being that close to him. It had been so long, he hadn't had physical contact in years. He had never had contact like _this._ Her breaths, kisses, and soft touches were almost too much for his heart. He was afraid he would break this moment. His heart was beating so hard, he was sure she would hear it and leave him.

Because as much as he willed it calm, it only beat faster. Throbbed in his chest every time she looked at him. He wanted her to smile for him, smile because of him. He wanted her to be happy, and if this made her happy, it made him happy too.

Those moments seemed to go so fast. It felt like mere seconds earlier when she was promising him that they could go back to how it was before. That if she could just have him for _one_ night, then she'd be happy, and never bother him again.

In her head she only had one night. Only till sunrise. Only till that damned light peeked in through the window, that's what would make her leave.

But he didn't want the same anymore.

He let his fingers dance across her arms, wanting her to smile and kiss him again. He wanted her to nip at his lips again, tell him how much she cared about him.

Because even though he never voiced it… he felt the same exact way.

"Sakura," he mumbled, lips against her forehead for a moment as he let his fingertips trail over her soft skin. She stirred a little, and looked up at him, glass green eyes dilated. There went his heart again.

Eyeliner was streaked a little around her eyes, and her lips were bright red and swollen. He felt bad for a second, wondering if it hurt; but then he guessed his own lips were probably swollen too.

"What is it Sasuke-kun?" the green orbs rushed to the window and he saw the disappointment come into those eyes. Her brows furrowed for a split second, in something the boy couldn't read, before she pasted on a smile; the smile which he just learned, within the last few hours, was a fake. "Right." She said, retracting herself from his arms.

His black eyebrows furrowed then, confused with her action. "Sakura?" what was she doing? He wanted her to smile, to lie in his arms for hours and kiss him, kiss him and smile for him. Where was she going?

She only continued to move away from his arms, the space where she had been began to cool. She tried to feed him that fake smile once more, one he was starting to really dislike. She started to pull on her sandals, but the male jumped up and stopped her, grabbing her wrists in his larger hands and held them to his chest.

"Sasu-"

"Stop." He said it softly. "I don't want you to go."

Those moss eyes widened. "What? Sasuke, don't play games with me. I said one night. If you didn't want that you should have said no. Don't screw with my feelings like that."

"Sakura-"

"Just please don't do that." He saw the tears well up, and watched how her nose scrunched and her lips curled in, trying to stop the salt water from flowing over her face. "Don't mess with me like that." She said softly. "I can't bare it."

"Listen to me." He stepped closer to her again, and held both of her hands in one of his larger ones as his other palm found the small of her back and pulled her closer to him. "I don't want you to go." He swallowed. Speaking was almost as strange as she first felt in his arms. Though he couldn't imagine warming up to speaking they way he did to Sakura. "Please, just stay here with me."

She started to shake her head no, tell him that she had to leave, and that she was sorry for everything, but then, she felt his breath fan over her cheeks, and his mouth was suddenly on hers. Lips locked as the sun continued to rise outside of the building, shining blinding light onto the heart breaking sight outside of the walls.

He kissed her gently and delicately, almost humbly. As if he felt he didn't even deserve to kiss her, or hold her.

He kissed her like that until she couldn't stand it anymore, until she felt like she would melt into him and never be able to retract herself from him again. It was maddening what soft kisses could do. What they could make you _feel._ How they made you burn. Her heart was thumping when she finally did pull away from him, the thoughts in her mind couldn't be farther from leaving him.

"What does this mean?" she asked it in a breathless whisper. Sakura wondered if he could feel her heart palpitating through her skin. "I promised you I'd let it go back to how it was before-"

"Would you please just listen to me," he cut her off as his black orbs found her now radiating green ones. They were almost shining again. "It can't go back to how it was before. Everyone's dead. Even if we tried there's no before to even go back to. There's no one left besides you and me.

"Sakura, I don't want the same; I don't want what we had before. I screwed up before. I messed up; I fucked up something amazing we could have had for so long. Things got destroyed, people died. If it weren't for me, all of this might not have happened," the tears started running again, he let his fingers run over her cheeks, gathering the liquid as he spoke so softly to her. "People were killed, I don't want that. I don't want the same. I don't want whatever screwed up relationship not relationship that we had before. I want what's after this. I want you. Sakura, nothing can ever be the same again."

_x. o. x. o._

* * *

Okay, so yea, that's the end. I know I've just been kinda finishing with conversation in my stories and that's just cause I want you all to think about what could or would happen after that (: alright, I hope you all liked it and let me know what you think. If you like it hate it, any advice of things I could do better or whatever you'd like to let me know about :D

_peace,_

_a. rose. love_


	18. twenty questions

:D haha heyyoo, how are you all doing? I hope good (: So here is another story for you guys, I did it in two days because it was coming out right haha; hope you enjoy it (:

I unfortunately do not own Naruto

If I'd ask you questions, would you give me a story as an answer?

_Twenty Questions._

It was summer and it was hot. Like sweat beading and running down your back, the sun radiating off of your skin. Like swimming in sunshine and not in humidity. It was hot, but it was a breathable heat, with small bursts of breeze hanging around. Short shorts, tank tops, and muscle shirts weather.

They were on their way to get ice cream, just the two of them. Searching for some sort of relief from the heat. Swimming sounded like heaven to them, but two dollars and a handful of quarters couldn't get two people into the charged community swimming pool. That almost wasn't even enough for a single ice cream. They were best friends, so sharing wasn't too much to ask.

They had been best friends since before they could ever remember. Since he was little and he lost his first tooth, to when the pink haired one fell and busted her knee open. The male could remember how the girl cried when her first boyfriend broke up with her. And she had been there for him when the girl he had first slept with cheated on him.

They had seen the worst and heard the worst things from each other. They were opposites and so much more. They were the best of friends.

"I mean, seniors, you know? How crazy is that?" she continued to babble about their current year in school. She was tall, but he was taller. His head had to be tilted just a little to look at her, which he honestly didn't mind. She was gorgeous. With cotton candy pink hair and lemon-lime green eyes. She radiated summer, through her skin and her voice, through the way she carried herself. She was beautiful. He loved looking at her.

"It is pretty crazy Sakura." He said her name softly, sticking his hands into the pocket s of his plaid shorts.

She looked up at him, pausing for a moment. "I mean, it just feels like last year that you made that terrible mistake of dating Karin-"

"Unfortunately that was last year." He cut her off, rolling his soot eyes. "You're never gonna let me live that down are you?" she shook her head.

"Nope, the Great Sasuke Uchiha, dating sophomore Karin? Ew, man seriously. Ew." The girl giggled and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I heard she fucked really good, so why not." He scratched at the back of his neck, trying to rid the tickly feeling of his sweat running a little over his skin.

"Did you ever find out?" she knew the answer to this, but she loved bothering him about it. A pink eyebrow curved up, matching the slight curve of her lips.

Sasuke's eyes darted to the rose haired girl and he reached an arm over and poked her cheek. "Nope, she threw up alcohol all over me and did not let me fuck her that night." He grinned a little, playing along with his best friend. "Sadly for her I broke up with her after that." He thought of the younger red haired girl for a moment and almost felt bad. Almost.

"Yea, sadly for her." Sakura rolled her eyes, still half smiling from her friend's cockiness. "So does the great Uchiha Sasuke like anybody now?"

"Aa." He hummed a little, glancing the girl's way once more. She wasn't looking at him. "Perhaps."

He saw how she watched the pavement that crunched underneath her shoes. "Well who is it?" She was curious and quiet at the same time.

Very un-Sakura-like.

The boy snorted a little, a soft almost chuckle. "Like I'd tell you."

He continued to watch her and grinned when her head snapped up to confront him, a shocked expression on her face. Avocado eyes wide and lips parted. "What? We're like best friends."

"We are best friends."

"Then why-"

"You get twenty questions, and if at the end of them you can guess the right girl, then I'll tell you if you're right or not." He spoke the idea in his deep voice, letting it linger in the warm air for a moment, to see if she'd agree to his terms or not.

"Why don't you just tell me and I can help you get together with her. Like I did for Naruto and Ino?"

The male shook his black head. "Nope, you get questions. Take it or leave it."

"Can I have more than twenty?" he shook his head again. The thin girl gave him a small glare before nodding her head in defeat. "Fine."

"Fine." He mimicked her and stuck his tongue out, hip bumping her at the same time. "Alright, gimme a question."

"She's a girl?"

The boy almost stumbled at the first question, reevaluating the entire idea. "Yea, Sakura, although surprising to most, I'm not gay." He spared her another look, shaking his head a small smile sitting on his lips.

She laughed. "I know, just have to make sure you're not switching around on me. Okay," she grinned. "now the real questions. How old is she?"

"Seventeen."

"So she's either in our grade or a year behind." Sakura bit a little at her lower lip. "Is she a slut or a nerd?"

Sasuke chuckled again, wondering what other sort of crazy ass questions his best friend would ask. "Neither, she's really gorgeous but a virgin, and she's really intelligent and into silly things, but she's not ugly like nerds may be."

"That was such a stereotyped answer, I'm disappointed in you." They were getting closer to the ice cream stand. "Do you know her well?"

"Yea, she's like my best friend."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Oh my god, is she more of your best friend than I am?" the boy could see how her eyes widened and he felt bad for a moment but he shook his head.

"No, she's not. You're my best friend Saki." The girl visibly calmed, her shoulders relaxing and her breath exhaled from her lungs.

"Good." She spoke softly. "Alright but pause okay? I want ice cream now." She grinned at him and he nodded, accepting the pause in their conversation.

They walked up together to the small stand. It had wooden siding on the outside and a small window to place orders. "Can we have one small vani-"

"Can we have strawberry please Sasuke?" she looked up at him with her green eyes wide. "I like strawberry better."

He watched her for a moment before nodding and placing his eyes back on the girl taking their order. "A small strawberry cone please."

"Two thirty-seven." The girl said, holding a hand out for the dollars and quarters Sasuke was handing to her.

"Thank you." He said softly, noticing her chocolate colored eyes. "You're Neji's girlfriend aren't you? Tenten."

She smiled at him. "Yea, I am. You're his younger friend right? Um, Sasuke?"

Said male nodded. "Mhm, how's he doing? I haven't seen him since his graduation party, and that was pretty ridiculous."

"I know it was. We all got pretty trashed, I don't really remember what happened. But I mean, it was good I think." She pivoted a little away from the counter to the ice cream dispenser. It hummed loudly when she pulled the handle down to get the strawberry ice cream out. "We fought that morning about some dumb shit, but you know how it goes Sasuke, fights are almost a good thing because the sex afterwards is almost to die for."

He let out a small laugh, and took Sakura's hand in his when a few guys from the town over pulled in. "I know how it is." Tenten reached back through and handed him the strawberry cone. "Thanks, I'll see you later Tenten, tell Neji I asked about him."

She nodded and watched them walk away.

The two walked back to the park, a few blocks from the ice cream stand. They were both silent, Sasuke licking now and then at the melting ice cream, and he was still holding the girl's hand. "Can I have some?" Sakura finally asked, looking up at him almost from a daze. The boy nodded and held it down for her steadily so that she could use her pink tongue and get some of the frozen treat.

"You okay?" he asked her softly. They sat down on a metal bench. It had yellow and red tulips blooming beside it. He still had her hand in his and it made him nervous that she wasn't talking and babbling like she had been earlier. She had quieted and calmed into what seemed to be one of her thinking moods, and that could be bad in the long run.

The girl nodded. "How many times have you had sex Sasuke?"

She wasn't looking at him, which was odd. She always looked at people when she was talking to them. "You know how many times I've had sex Sakura." He didn't know why he felt shy talking about it to her at that moment. Usually he could just blurt it out, tell her all of it, down to the details. How the girl got breathless or how it felt to be inside of her, the way she'd say his name and how that turned him on even more. He didn't tell her if she didn't want to know. But usually it was easier than _this._

"How many different girls?"

"You know that too." He looked at the melting pink in his hand and wondered why he didn't even really want to eat it anymore. He swallowed. "Do you want some more?" She nodded and he held it out to her again so she wouldn't get the mess all over her hands. "Why do you want to know?" he spoke it softly, in a tone that he knew she knew meant he didn't really want to talk about it. He let his thumb run over her knuckles, and his slate eyes wandered across the ground. He didn't know why he felt so oddly exposed. She already knew all of this. Why was she asking again?

The female shrugged. "I dunno. Uhm, okay so is this girl that you like, fuck-able, or marry-able?"

Was it bad that when she said fuck-able he looked at her chest? His black eyes fell away from her, embarrassed by himself. "She's gorgeous and yea, I'd love to have sex with her. But is that all I want her for? No way. Would I like to marry her too? If she's who I think she is, then yea, I'd marry her right now." He grinned crookedly. "And then we could have sex all the time cause that makes it okay."

Sakura rolled her eyes then. "Alright, and what does she look like? Like is she skinny or chunky? Tall or short?"

"She's fairly tall for a girl, but short compared to guys. She's skinny. Like beautiful skinny. Small breasts and a small ass, but they're gorgeous on her." He chuckled. "That was kinda blunt, I'm sorry."

"Nah, you're a dude, guys notice boobs and butts, its okay." She licked at the ice cream again. Tasting it a little before she opened her mouth to ask him again.

Whatever had made the male feel sick a handful of minutes before had passed, so he ate some of the stuff too. He had to focus on something else besides her wet tongue and the sex questions, because that was making him think of terrible things.

"What's a word to describe her?"

"Clueless." It was an automatic answer. One he didn't have to think about.

"So then she doesn't know you like her?"

He shook his head again, looking at the sky then. "Not a clue. Unless she got more of a idea recently, cause I feel I've kinda sorta maybe been hinting, but she can be dense when it comes to people liking her. So I'll just say no, she doesn't know."

"Well okay that's a half-assed answer." She laughed lightly. "Does she like you too?"

That did take him a moment to respond. "I hope so. I really don't know, but I really hope she does."

"What's her favorite thing and why?" Sakura played with her fingers. Picking at her nails and inspecting her skin before she looked at him.

"Her favorite thing would probably be love. Or so she says. I don't think she's ever really been in love, but she really wishes she had it. And I think it's her favorite thing. And it's her favorite because she's only heard good things about it and wants a boy to know her inside and out and make living worthwhile."

Sakura's heart jumped then, recognizing the thing she used to tell him all the time. But scared that he didn't actually mean her. "S-so I'm guessing that this girl doesn't have a boyfriend then huh?"

"Not till she starts dating me, no."

Her pink head bobbed with her nod. "Okay, makes sense. Now what is your favorite thing to do with her and favorite thing about her?"

"Just being with her is my favorite thing. And about her? That I guess she's herself. I like everything about her. How she talks and walks, how she's different than all the other girls I've ever been with. She's just really amazing."

"Okay, so different from everyone else, does that mean she doesn't drink and smoke?"

He grinned. "Knew that was gonna come up at some point." He prodded her hand a little with his fingers, tired of just sitting, wanting to move around, do something. He looked at the half eaten ice cream and took a bite out of it, immediately his face twisted, the coldness hurting his teeth.

The coral haired girl began to laugh. "What are you doing? Obviously you don't just bite into ice cream! Why would you do that?"

"Why wouldn't you? I got the urge, so I did." His nose was scrunched up and there was still pain in his gums. "Ow, kiss me and make it better."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Answer my questions and maybe I'll start to think about thinking about kissing you."

"But that'll be too late and my mouth won't hurt anymore." He stuck out his tongue again. "And no. This different girl doesn't drink, but she does smoke sometimes. Only when she's stressed or with me. I'm a bad influence on her."

"You're a bad influence on everyone. I'm sure not just on this poor girl, whoever she is." His hand was still in hers and she couldn't help wondering if he meant her. "Does she listen to good music?"

"Saki, can we go home? It's too hot out here and there's ice cream all over my hand and there are bees out here." He looked at her with his black eyes wide. "Please?"

"Oh come on Sasuke, man up." She grinned at him, unable to help herself around him. He gave her those puppy dog eyes for another second and she was already standing, pulling him along with her, slimmer hand still in his. "My house or your house?" she was feeling better too. The ice cream helped with the heat and he just helped her all around.

"My house, silly girl, it's the one that has good A.C."

"Yea yea. So, why does this girl like you?"

"I never said she did."

"But what if she does? Why do you think she likes you?" He caught up with her in a step and a half. Crunching on the cone of the ice cream in his hand he answered around the food.

"I don't know. I don't know why anyone would like me. And she does listen to good music. She's likes Falling in Reverse, 'Good Girls Bad Guys' is her favorite by them. And she just started really listening to Asking Alexandria, which I've been trying to convince her to for, like, ever."

"Well girls are dumb, so no wonder she took forever to listen to you. What color are her eyes?" she asked the question softly, still trying to convince herself he wasn't actually talking about her.

"This really fucking awesome green color. It reminds me of the ocean, and of grass. And it reminds me of radiation because it's so eye catching and it just makes me think about her every day, like she poisoned me with her eyes."

"Way to get really cheesy about it." She looked up at him, feeling like she was picking up more of the hints he had talked about dropping.

"It's not cheesy if it's fucking true." They got to his house in another handful of minutes. It was small, but nice. With three bedrooms, a bath, kitchen, and a living room with TV, Xbox, and a big ass couch. He opened the door for her and let her go in ahead of him. He went into the kitchen and let the remains of their food fall into the sink and he washed his hand of the stickiness. She watched him by the doorway, staying somewhat quiet; she tried to fiddle with her fingers to sidetrack herself, but she couldn't force herself to look away from him.

"I fucking love that girl. She's the best thing that ever happened to me." He turned around to watch her, but he didn't come closer. He let himself lean against the counter, holding his arms out to her. "The best fucking thing that's ever happened to me." He repeated.

"Yea?" the girl asked softly, she could almost feel the blush crawling up her skin.

He nodded at her, still keeping his arms out and inviting her closer. "Yea." It took her a moment, to decide if it was a good idea to go to him, and after her heart beat a few times, urging her forward, she went.

She stepped close to him, and he reached his arms out farther, to catch her so that she wouldn't get away from him again. His hands landed on her hips, and his fingers curled around to her back, where they rested, holding her close to him.

"Do you know who I'm talking about Sakura?" he asked her softly, his pupils were large and they blended in with the black of his eyes. "Do you?" he asked again. He stopped leaning against the counter and pressed himself to her, so that his hips were pressed against hers, and his mouth was just as close.

"I-I think so." it was hard for her to think with him so close. He was awfully warm. Body heat had nothing on the sun. It's true that the sun is actually hotter, but body heat could kill. It made you warm, and it made you feel loopy, like up and down are messed up. Like the other person is the only thing keeping you standing and then you realize you're actually lying down and they're clinging to you as if you're the only thing keeping them alive.

And in theory, and in dealing with love, you really could be the only thing keeping them alive.

That could be a fact.

"Who am I talking about Sakura, answer me." She could feel Sasuke's breathe on her skin, and it tingled, it made her flesh bump and prickle far away from where the air actually hit her. There was something else that was making her skin feel funny and her heart race in her chest. It was something close to where their hips were touching, and it kept getting harder.

"But I have a question left." She said almost breathlessly.

"I really don't think you do," he grinned at her, "but I _guess_ you can ask anyways."

"Are you going to ask this awesome girl out, or are you just going to talk about how awesome she is, kiss her and touch her and pull her close to you; and then just ignore her for a long time?" the girl almost hated herself for even asking. Who cared if he did? If he told her how much he liked her then screwed her and then just dropped her.

It would probably be the best night of her life.

But then that other voice started talking. The one that said that they were best friends, and to ruin a friendship over a one night stand was probably one of the dumbest ideas in the entire world.

"Would this girl say yes if I asked her out? And I mean like, boyfriend-girlfriend ask out. Not 'let's go on a date, fuck and then never talk again' ask out." He was walking her slowly backwards, back towards the living room, where there weren't granite countertops and linoleum floors. Where instead there was carpet and a big grey couch. "I'm tired of girls like that. And this girl, I don't think she's like that. This girl is beautiful."

"Yes." The girl said, she could feel heat come up her cheeks as she let her green eyes meet his starless ones. "Yes she would say yes."

"Then yes I would."

"Then the girl you're talking about is definitely me." Sakura smiled at him, letting him lead her wherever he pleased.

"Well then, Miss Sakura Haruno," he watched her as he spoke. "would you be my girlfriend?"

"You're not going to leave me are you?" she asked softly. She was practically dying to kiss him. To kiss her best friend. But she needed to know if he actually planned on keeping her around. "Because I like, really really like you Sasuke. And I don't want to lose you."

"Promise you won't lose me." He looked at her before picking her up and carrying her the last few feet to the couch. He let her go gently on it before he climbed up beside her. "I won't leave you, I won't screw you over. You know me Sakura. I talk to you. I don't talk to any of my girlfriends, but I already talk to you. You know everything I've done. You know how fucked up I am, you understand what's wrong with me. And I understand what's wrong with you. Just say yes, okay? Say you'll be mine and I promise I won't do anything wrong."

"I've always been yours." She murmured, and then she kissed him. His lips were softer than she ever imagined them being. She felt his hands moving around while they kissed, as if they had had minds of their own. Pulling at her clothes and repositioning both of them, so that he was lying on his back and she was against his chest.

His tongue was pushing against hers and his hands were running up her thighs and over her ass, and back down. "Mph," she pulled away from him. "Your parents aren't home?" she asked, suddenly thinking about it alarmed.

He grunted a no, hands still touching her. She opened her mouth to speak again but he started before she had the chance to. "No, Itatchi's not home either, and none of them will be coming home for a while. We have time to do whatever, or not do whatever." He looked at her. "Trust me, okay? Now, do you want to stop?"

"I-"

"Cause if you do we can."

She shook her head. "No, I don't want to." She could feel herself breathing, as if she weren't even in her body, and her heart was reckless in her chest. He didn't ask again after that. They kissed and his heat reminded her of the sun. His warmth and his kisses reached all the way into her bones, warming all of her cells and making them buzz as if she were drunk. It was like lying in the sun's rays as the light kissed her skin. He was like that to her. He always had been.

His tongue was wet and soft, a lot nicer than she ever thought tongues would feel like. It was almost weird that he was touching her already. Normally, with people just starting to date, kissing should have been enough. But years and years of friendship, she was okay with his fingers reaching for the warm place underneath her jean shorts.

"What're you doing?" she didn't know why she whispered it. They were the only two in the entire house, maybe the only ones home on the entire block. But she whispered it to him none the less.

"Trust me okay?" he looked at her, black eyes still wide. "It might hurt a little at first, but everyone says I'm really fucking good at it, just give me a second." He kissed her nose, "Okay?"

She took a breath and nodded. "Okay." And he let his fingers press into her.

_x. o. x. o._

"Why do I like you so much?" she asked him softly, green eyes tracing over his face while he brushed some of her hair away from her cheeks. "You're a bad boy, obviously, why? Can you tell me why I like you so much?" she could feel her heart beating in her chest still. It was really strange after the first time, because it kind of hurt, but after it happened, it felt like there was something missing. Before you never even knew, but after? It was like it threw everything off.

She was still leaning against his chest, his arms were around her, and he seemed to have calmed down some. He wasn't as excitable and his hands weren't still running over her delicate places. They were resting against her back, or maybe along her arms. But not like they had been.

He glanced up at her. "Good girls love bad guys. No one knows why." He grinned at her. "But you're a good girl and I don't understand why I like you so much either." He kissed her forehead. "My Sakura, my Sakura." He said her name a bit sing-song-y. "You tired my dear?" she nodded and he grinned at her again. "Well sleep then, hun. Sleep."

_X o. x. o._

So there it is, done, and finished. Hope you guys liked it, thank you for reading and I'll hopefully see you soon :D leave a review telling me what you think

Oh and ps. Fuckin yea! 50 reviews :D

_peace,_

_a. rose. love._


	19. the simple strange desperate truth

:} okay so yeah, here we are, chapter 19. :D I'm planning on having another chapter after this, for a total of 20, then starting a new oneshot line. But I'm not sure what to call it, so if you have any ideas, leave me a review telling me what you think and what you think the next title should be and we'll see what happens :)

I don't own naruto.

The thing I miss most about a boyfriend is kissing. Man, I know this is like, laaammee to say but legit. If you've never kissed someone, wait till you do. It's amazing.

* * *

_x. o. x. o._

_**the simple strange desperate truth.**_

She kissed me with those pink lips. The ones I stare at sometimes without realizing, the ones I sometimes dream about.

It was quick and cute; she just said my name, like normal, like everything was normal. But when I looked at her, she had this pretty blush across her cheeks, and at first I didn't get why, then she leaned in closer to me, and let her mouth touch mine.

I think hell broke open then, because I had never felt that before. Never felt that fucking amazing before.

She kissed me with those lips, on my own mouth. She kissed me.

I can't stop thinking about it.

I fell in love with her when she did that.

x. o. x. o.

* * *

She was always smiling. It was maddening. Didn't she know life wasn't always like that? That it wasn't always happy. That there was way more shit in the world, so much that I almost never smiled.

What was there to smile about?

Dead family; rogue, drug-addict brother.

Why should I smile about that?

But she always sat by me; smiling with white teeth, and for the longest time, it drove me crazy. I just wanted to tell her to stop. To stop smiling and laughing so easily. Just stop it.

I wanted to show her that life wasn't always so fun; I wanted to prove it to her. I wanted her to understand.

But I didn't, because any time I thought of letting her know, of telling her that life was way shittier that she could ever understand, she smiled at me.

My heart clenched and some far part of my mind said that if she was oblivious to the horrors of the planet, leave it that way. Innocence was bliss.

* * *

x. o. x. o.

I catch her staring at me sometimes, and when I look at her she just _smiles_, murmurs my name. "Oh Sasuke-kun, what am I going to do with you?" like a disappointed mother. She's even tsked her tongue at me.

The one that kissed me, that was in my mouth. The one that rubbed against my own tongue.

Damn it, stop it. Stop thinking about kissing her. Stop thinking about how pretty that damn smile is. Stop. Stop thinking.

Is it weird that I even liked her spit?

x. o. x. o.

* * *

She really is the prettiest girl in the school, I don't give a shit what anyone else says. Her electric pink hair, radiation green eyes. Her tight body and gorgeous legs. If someone thinks she's ugly, they're insane.

Well. More insane than me anyways.

She liked looking at me with those big eyes of hers too. Just let them fall to me, and I would start second guessing everything I was. Every heartbeat, every breath. It was like she saw so much more than me.

So much more than just a tall kid in skinny jeans with gages and lip rings. She made me feel not awkward and awkward at the same time. Like she accepted me, but I'd second guess myself minutes later.

She was just so beautiful. That threw me off. How pretty she was and is. I don't know how to take it; I don't understand why she'd talk to me, why she kissed me.

But I like it.

Like how she looks at me, like how she smiles, how she breaths. Yea that's weird as hell, to like how someone breaths. To like their organs, to appreciate how their entire body works. To accept it all.

To like everything-

No, that doesn't describe it. I love it.

I love how she breathes, how her small breasts move up and down, and how the air rushes in and out of her lips, how her nostrils flare sometimes when she's pissed at me for something dumb. I love how white her skin is and how her fingers move across things. Like how they fly across a computer keyboard, or pick up a pencil and draw so beautifully.

I loved how her heart was freaking out when she kissed me.

I fucking love it.

I love her.

Simple, strange, desperate, truth.

I fucking love her.

I love her.

* * *

x. o. x. o.

"Sasuke-kun." She was smiling again, gleaming at me as I sat down beside her for our class.

I swallow the weird lump in my throat. "Hey Sak." When did I start her on a pet name?

x. o. x. o.

* * *

She smiled again, but even more brilliantly than the first time. "Will you meet me after school again today?"

"Uhm, yea." I said softly, wondering when the hell that actually happened. We didn't hang out after school. Well, not really, in my head we might have. But not in real life. "If you want to."

"Of course I want to. Rad, I'll meet you later." She said, pushing some pink over her shoulder with those long fingers before she set her gaze back on the teacher.

Damn it. Why wasn't she still looking at me?

* * *

x. o. x. o.

I was kissing her again. Her tongue was in my mouth, and probably closer to actually being in my throat. It felt good though, the desperation of it. Like she missed me, for some reason. Maybe she did miss me.

Was that too much to ask for? Someone to miss you as much as you missed them?

"Sak?" I pulled away a little, trying to breathe, trying not to… well, trying not to take advantage of this. "Why's this happening?" it was quiet, and I put my fingers in hers.

She was soft. A there but not there soft. Like how you'd imagine a cloud to feel. Too good to be true.

"Because I want to be with you." She said it like a question. Light rose eyebrows furrowing.

"It feels like you're not really here with me."

"Maybe I'm not." She said quietly. "But why not take advantage of it while you can?" her eyes were large, and my heart skipped a beat when she spoke that.

"Just because I come from a family of flaming assholes, doesn't mean that I need to be the next one." I let my forehead fall onto hers. "Because I really like you and taking advantage is what pricks do. I don't want to be that guy."

"What if I want you to?" It was sultry, trying to be sexy. Trying to be different than normal. "What if I want you to take me home with you?"

Damn it. Why was she being like that?

At that party she had to pull me aside, away from everyone else, pretend like nothing was wrong, like everything was as it should. And then, with that blush on her cheeks, she kissed me.

Not like this. Not against the bricks on the side of our school, where every soul could see.

Her voice hadn't been low, seductive, nothing like that. When she kissed me the first time, it was adorable, and cute. It was worth whatever time needed to be put there. The adorableness of her made every minute I spent thinking about her worth it.

But this?

I didn't want a one night with her. I didn't want that tackiness.

"You don't." I said it, pulling away from her. "I promise you don't."

"You don't know what I want. Maybe I want you to fuck me!" I started away from her, looking down at the pavement and stuffing my hands in my pockets.

"You pussy!" She yelled, the sultry tone turning soprano. "Come back here! Sasuke!"

"Damn it, Sasuke!"

x. o. x. o.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun?"

I jump at the feeling of someone's hand on my arm. I look up through blurry black eyes and see floral.

"You okay?" that was the cute voice, the one that had been missing. "You said something about not wanting to be an asshole, it sounded like you were having a night mare. It sounded really sad."

I blink a few more times, trying to rid the sleepies from my eyes and whatever fucked up-ness that had been going on in my head. "I'm fine, don't worry about it. What happened?" I ask, looking down at the books on my desk.

"You fell asleep. You came into class, and said 'Hey Sak.' Then I was telling you this thing, but you fell asleep on me."

"Oh." I murmur quietly. "Sorry. Not much sleep last night." Or the night before, or the night before that.

I don't think I could count all my almost sleepless nights on my fingers. I'd have to break out my toes, and even then I probably wouldn't have enough digits.

She smiles again. "That's okay." We fall silent for a handful of rather sporadic heart beats. "Were you dreaming?" she asks. I nod at her, and she opens her mouth again. "What were you dreaming of?"

I look at her, and I'm not sure if she understands that I have an infatuation with her. I can't decide whether it would creep her out or flatter her that I had a dream about kissing her face and licking at her tongue. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you after school."

"Why after school?"

"It's a little inappropriate for this… setting." Maybe it would flatter her and she'd want to kiss me in real life…

"If you drive me home we can talk about it in the car." I nod then.

"Deal."

* * *

x. o. x. o.

We were driving. Well, okay I was driving and she was riding shot-gun. Playing with the dials on my radio, but whatever, you know? If you love someone you let them screw up your favorite music stations to their heart's content.

"So are you going to tell me what you were dreaming about?" her voice is soft as some sort of song starts to play on the radio.

"I can show you, we just gotta stop somewhere first." She falls silent and I can see her turn her green eyes outside the window.

'_We just gotta stop somewhere first.'_

Awesome. I think silently. Awesome, now you sound like your whack job brother, who killed your parents and you know, stole all their money and everything valuable to buy some drugs. Awesome. I'm fucking smooth.

"I mean, like we can't do it in the car-I just- wow this sounds bad." I take a hand off of the steering wheel and run it over my hair, pulling at the soot strands a moment before I place it back on the wheel. "I'm not gonna like rape you or-"

"Sasuke-kun." She giggles a little. "I know, I've gone to school with you for how long? I know you." That was a relief. Probably more than it should have been. But it was what it was.

x. o. x. o.

* * *

"What do you dream about?" she asks again when I park in her driveway. I don't see any other cars around, which is good and bad at the same time. I don't want her to think that _that's_ all I'm interested in. Because it's definitely not.

We're both in the process of grabbing all our shit out of my vehicle so I take a minute while she fiddles in her purse for her keys so that we can go in her house.

"I can show you what my dreams are made of." I look at her after we're in, and my heart beat and I thought I was going to fall. I was shaking. "You just have to trust me." I said almost silently. "You have to trust that I'm not like my brother." I watch the cream carpet on her floor before I can't stand it and let my eyes meet hers.

She looks at me, and I can see how she's thinking, her green eyes pivoting around on my face, going between my eyes, trying to see if I was bullshitting her or if I was serious. She sighs a little, but then she nods. "I trust you, Sasuke-kun. I always have, even when no one else did."

When no one else did. That was a bad year. When I punched that kid and broke his nose. I never told her that it was because he talked about fucking her. That he called her a whore in front of me.

She was better than that, so much fucking better than that. She's a virgin. Was, is, and probably will be until she's married. She had only ever kissed me. And that had just been once, until right now.

I kiss her again, then. On the lips, with mine. With my tongue, and I did it right this time. I let my hand fall to her waist, and the other brush a few strands of her hair out of her face before I let it fall to her hips too.

It's good to feel her again, like that. Being so close to me, it makes me feel less alone. I don't think she'll ever understand how much I need her. Even if she won't ever need me.

"I-is your heart beating crazy?" she asks softly, so softly with those pretty lips. I feel her breath on my mouth, and I nod, and I could feel my eyes widen.

"Y-yea why?" Did she feel my heart? Is that bad, or is that good? Did she even want me to kiss her?

She smiles then, and at that moment I notice that her arms are laced under mine, wrapped around my back, with her slender fingers scratching softly against the fabric over my skin. "Mine is too." I was so close to smiling at that. For some reason that just made my blood burn, it ran everywhere in me, and it hurts, but god, it feels so fucking good. And then she leans in and kisses me back, catching the almost-smile in her mouth.

I pull away a little later, when I imagine I can talk without sounding _completely_ idiotic. "Can I tell you something?" She nods. "I love you." Her green eyes widen and my heart beats worse than before. "I-I mean, I do, I just. If you don't love me that's okay. If you never love me, you know, whatever. But you just have to know that I love you." It takes everything I have to look in her eyes, and when I do I feel like I'm going to start crying.

"You just have to know." And my voice sounds like I'm twelve again, and I couldn't have felt more pathetic in that moment.

I let my forehead rest against hers, and I close my eyes. Because she's still in my arms, and if she wants me to leave and never talk to her again, I will. I can, I'd do it for her. But I just need her for the last few seconds before she wants me gone.

Maybe this was the nightmare, and the other stuff was reality.

"Is that what you dream about?" she asks. Her voice is so soft. How can someone's voice make you feel like they're such a deep part of you? Even with her just speaking, I feel like she's pulling at my heart.

"Yes." I mumble out the words in a stream. "I dream of you and I all the time. Doing all your favorite things, I dream of kissing you, and saving you from danger. I dream that the only place where you feel home is in my arms. And in my best dreams, you tell me you love me back." I tighten my arms, because I just wish she could somehow be closer, so she could take the loneliness I feel right out of my soul. "But in my worst dreams, in my nightmares-"

"Sasuke," She cuts me off and my eyes squeeze together real tight. She didn't use the –kun. I think my heart's breaking in my chest. I wonder how she'd feel if I died right now. Probably relieved, she wouldn't have to deal with any of my shit anymore. "Why do you just dream it? I thought you knew."

"Knew what?" I wish she'd stop dragging it out already. She's going to drop me in the mud and shatter me. I'll never even come close to almost smiling again.

"That I love you too. Why do you think I always smile with you? You make me happy, I smile for you. That if I can smile enough for both of us, maybe you'll feel better. I dream too, Sasuke-kun. I dream of you, and I dream of us. I dream that you don't have to deal with the worst things life could give you; I dream that when you're with me you feel safe. I dream that someday you'll smile for me and that you'll keep me safe."

My eyes have snapped open somewhere during her small speech. And I can't even swallow; the spit in my mouth is all dry. And I don't even know what to say. "Would you… like slap me or something?" I ask slowly, unsure which is actual reality.

Her eyebrows furrow and she frowns a little. "No, why?"

I shake my head. "Nothing." I'm still looking at her, trying to swallow whatever saliva used to be in my mouth, and my brain's burning like something crazy to try and come up with a response, but the only thing that comes out is: "That's awesome." I watch her and she still looks confused, maybe even more so. "That you said that-that, you mean it?" She nods.

"Obviously, why would I stand here with you and tell you that if I didn't mean it? I mean we're in my house, Sasuke-kun obvi-"

And then I kiss her again, because I can't stand it. Because I'm about to smile bigger than I have in my entire life, and I need her to swallow it for me because my mouth muscles don't know how to make a pretty smile.

"That's fucking awesome." I say between kisses, barely pulling my mouth from hers at all. "Do you know how fucking amazing that is?" I pull her close to me and hold her chin, kissing her because I need to, because I feel like I'm going to die, or that my heart's about to give out. She's the only thing keeping me alive. And that's no bullshit. That's the truth.

"You're amazing." I say. Jesus. I've never been this happy before. "You're amazing and you're beautiful and I love you.

"Shit, Sakura. I love you. I fucking love you."

* * *

x. o. x. o.

_:D I hope you guys liked it! It was different than my normal, in first person present and past tense (yes I did it on purpose) And in Sasuke's pov. Let me know how I did. There's this rad little button, and when you click it, the raddest stuff ever happens (: Leave a review please, thanks for reading _

_peace and love,_

_a. rose. love_


	20. love note

Hey guys, yes it's been a while, yes, I'm horribly sorry about that, I really am. However, I've been writing my own book, not in contingency with fanfiction or Naruto or anything like that, so that's where most of my focus has been.

Now, I'd like to say thank you to all of you who read this, and review this, because…. Dun dun dun! I hit 10,000 hits, which is sooooooo exciting to me because I never thought any of my stories would get there.

So, thank you, to all of you, because when I saw that, it made my day (:

Without further or due, it's story time

I don't own Naruto, sadly.

* * *

_Love note._

"For once can't you just say it back?"

She was looking at him, with green eyes bright, liquid swam in them that threatened to fall. She was pissed, he could tell, and he felt bad for it. He really did.

But the thing was, he was Uchiha Sasuke, and he lived through one of the most horrific car accidents of their time. Because of this, from his young age, love wasn't a word his vocabulary was well equipped with.

He looked down away from his girlfriend. The girlfriend he had had for over four years. The one who had slept with him, the one he grew up with, the one with almost obnoxious pink hair, the one who kissed him.

She was glaring at him, with those beautiful green eyes, and he felt like the biggest asshole in the world, again, for being the reason tears were about to run over her cheeks.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words except for _the_ word were going to make her feel better. And that word was an elusive one for his tongue, one it couldn't quite wrap itself around. He scratched at the back of his neck, let his mouth fall shut, and he looked at her. Because he didn't know what to do, because he wasn't mad at her, he just couldn't.

When it came to that word, he was practically mute.

She turned away from him, scurried away from him to the closet at the end of the hall. There she grabbed her pale green pea-coat, and a yellow scarf to tie around her neck.

"Sakura," he tried to capture her when she walked past him again, but she spun slightly on her heel, and was out of his fingers.

"Don't, Sasuke." She had her hand on the doorknob within seconds, getting ready to leave for her shift at the hospital. "I'm just…" he saw the water come out of her eyes even though she tried almost desperately to stop it. "I'll just see you later."

And she was gone. The door opened and closed, and she didn't say that precious word to him, she didn't kiss his cheek, she didn't even hug him goodbye.

He could have kicked his own ass at that moment if it had been reasonably possible.

Sighing, he turned to the kitchen, grabbed a bowl of cereal, and headed towards his home office. Being a sports columnist had its perks. Home office, work at home, chilling and watching the games and being able to dub it 'research' were just a few of them.

But when you felt like that big of an asshole? Staring at a computer screen in the home you shared with the girl you really did love, just couldn't tell her you love her, kind of sucked.

He sighed again, rubbed at his eyes, pulled at his hair, and finally shut his computer down and grabbed a pen and clean sheet of paper.

* * *

_**x. o. x. o.**_

She looked for his car in their driveway when she was getting home from work, but the black vehicle wasn't there and she shivered a little in her skin. She felt bad, she really did. She understood why it was so hard for him, for God's sake, he lost his entire family when he was seven, but sometimes it broke her.

All she did was tell him how much she loved him, how he was amazing and how happy she was to have him in her life, and he could barely even tell her he loved her. They'd been together for four years, the word should come a little easier than that.

She exhaled and unlocked the door, greeted with the dark emptiness of their home. She let her eyes run over the light blue walls, landing on the pictures of the couple together. Some of them when they had traveled to other countries, a few with other family and friends. They were always smiling, and holding onto each other in some way. Either embracing or a simple touch of hands.

Sakura's eyes started to water again and she let them fall away from the photographs, heading towards the kitchen to make something to eat before working on some paperwork for the hospital.

She was almost done eating when she finished the paperwork, and noticed, with slight irritation, that it needed stapled. She stood up, dabbing her lips with a napkin, and headed to Sasuke's study, where there was bound to be a stapler somewhere.

She ruffled through the top desk drawer, finding the desired office object against one of the wooden corners, when something directly on top of the desk caught her attention.

It was labeled _The Reasons Why I Love You_ with that day's date on it. Her green eyes ran over the words on the page. They were written in his scratchy handwriting, letters flowing together in a way that didn't quite make sense.

_The Reasons Why I Love You:_

_-it's the way your eyes glow_

_-how soft your skin is_

_-just how fucking cute you are_

_-the way you smile, it makes my fucking day worth it_

_-you tell me you love me, even though I'm an ass and never say it back _

_-the dimples on your lower back_

_-your voice_

_-you let me kiss your lips_

_-you call me out when I do shitty things_

_-you make pink the prettiest color in the whole entire world_

_-I can sleep in the same bed with you without feeling like I have to punch something_

_-you don't snore_

_-you're as pretty without make-up as you are with it_

_-I'm writing this stuff down right? That counts for itself_

_-you're just worth it_

_-I actually **like** cuddling with you_

_-your toes are cute, I don't fucking know why, they just are_

_-the way you look at me when I say something stupid_

_-you were there for me when no one else was_

Sakura felt her heart beat jump oddly in her chest, making her breath catch in her throat and her fingers curl around the page as tears squirmed a little in her eyes. She heard the door unlock and she ran out of the office, wiping at the liquid slowly trickling out of her algae colored eyes.

"Sasuke?" he looked up at her from the doorway. He was standing with his hands in his pockets, book-bag hanging on one shoulder.

"Hey." He said softly, his onyx orbs dropping again. "I'm uhm…" he lifted a hand and scratched at his face. There was a little stubble there from where he hadn't shaved. "I'm sorry."

The girl's nose scrunched up, and the tears ran faster than they had before. "No, I'm sorry, I was being an asshole." She shuffled closer to him, looking down at the page in her fingers. "I-I found this paper on your desk. I w-was looking for a stupid stapler, and this was lying right on top." A tear fell onto it and she quickly wiped it away, hoping the ink wouldn't spread.

He nodded gently; a color very similar to pink ran up his neck. "Yea, I was…" he swallowed and pulled at his jacket sleeve. "I was writing that to give to you. I'm not done with it yet."

Her green eyes were wide and glassy. "You're not done with it yet?" he shook his head, black hair ruffling a little from the movement.

"Nope." She watched as he stood there awkward in their doorway, almost like it was their first date again and he couldn't quite figure out how to say she looked really cute. "I could write so many lists, Sakura of all the reasons I-I…" she could see the way he ground his teeth together and she wondered in her head if he was angry with himself because the three little words refused to come easily.

His eyes closed and he took a breath, hands shaking he smiled. "I fucking love you, Sakura, and I know I suck at saying it, and I understand my family background isn't an excuse, but I do." He opened the black dots and watched her. "I really love you, and I'm sorry I'm a big jack ass for not saying it more often."

She smiled at him, and she let out her own breath, setting the love note down on the side table in the room. "I love you too." She spoke softly, walking closer to him and wrapping her thin arms around his torso.

He held her close to his chest, relaxing into her warmth and mentally cursing himself at the same time, upset that the four letter word always seemed to tie his tongue in knots and throw his usually-highly-intelligent brain out the window.

They stayed laced together for minutes, breathing turning soft and even. He was like the sun, and she just felt like light was kissing all across her face.

"I'm just really sorry it's so hard for me to say." He spoke softly, mouth by her ear. She pulled away from him, and there were tears still falling from her eyes. He made her cry again. He let his thumb run up over her skin, taking the offending liquid away.

"Just write me a list every time you can't say it." She smiled at him. "Because that's the best thing anyone has ever said to me."

He grinned at her tenderly, letting his arm remain around her waist as he gently kicked his book-bag out of the way and walked with her towards the living room couch. He pulled her tight against him after he sat down.

She hummed a moment, tears drying up. "You think my toes are cute?"

He smiled and nodded. "Cutest little piggies I ever saw." She grinned at him and kissed his mouth.

"Sasuke, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

* * *

Tahhdahhh (: okay, I got inspiration for this story from i l o v e y o u by an author named 'sweet wiishes'

This story is finished, along with this whole entire story line. Yes, _Throwing Punches at Ocean Waves_ is over, completed, ended. Sadface? No way!

I'm starting another one-shot entity; it will be titled _Sweetest Nightmares_ you should definitely go check it out. First story in it is going to be about zombies, ooooh (: Yay!

Okay, so I'll see you guys later, this isn't going to be updated anymore, but yes, go look at _Sweetest Nightmares_ you (hopefully) won't regret it.

There's this sweet-ass little button, somewhere below these words, you should Definitely go press it and tell me what you think of this story (; thanks for reading guys, love you

Peace,

a. rose. love


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